Give In To Me
by EnchantedxDreamer
Summary: Two years later, they pretend to hate each other after everything that happened. But will forced arrangements and situations cause them to grow out of their headstrong ways? Chloe and Alek! Rated T/M
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Two years later, they pretend to hate each other after everything that happened. But will forced arrangements and situations cause them to grow out of their headstrong ways? Chalek!**

**RATED M FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS  
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**I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.**

**Please consider this the Prologue. It sets up the story for you and you will learn a bit of the background on what happened between the two of them.  
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><p>It had been a two years since everything had happened. Two years ago to the day, Brian had died. Valentina and Jasmine were saved and Alek had killed Zane. Never would I have thought my world would come tumbling down when I told my mother that I was Mai. She was afraid of me. I ended up moving into the penthouse with Valentina, Jasmine and Alek.<p>

Alek and I hated each other. Ever since our conversation in my room that night he refused to talk to me. I tried for months to explain what he had heard me tell my mother. He assumed that I only wanted him because my human was dead.

Every word that came out of Alek's mouth was hurtful for the next few months. I finally became fed up and couldn't believe I had liked, possibly even loved, a man with so many cruel ways. Half of the things he said to me I know I didn't deserve. He wouldn't constantly remind me of how stupid I was to carry on with a human and where it got me, and the human in the end.

It didn't matter to Alek when we found out that his father was head of the order either. It was unclear what Brian's intentions were, but I wanted to believe that he was in the dark about it all.

I had just turned eighteen. Alek, Jasmine and I had just finished high school. College was not an option for us at this point in time. The order had grown stronger and the attacks were fiercer than ever. I still had seven lives left. There had been a few close calls. Even though Alek and I constantly spat hatred at each other he was there to save me in the time of need. As soon as we were out of harm's way, he went back to his loathing ways. There were some moments when I felt the tension had been lifted, but those were shortly lived.

The way he treated me was uncalled for, especially two years later. It was clear that we would always hate each other, even though there was a part of me that wondered what if. I always shrugged away this thought as soon as it came to mind. Every once in a while he would give me a smirk and send me a teasing comment, to which I acted annoyed to, even though a part of me longed to have his forgiveness. It didn't last long, whether it lasted a second or a few hours, he would always go back to resenting me.

So we continued to bicker and fight, and glare every time we were in each other's presence. Jasmine and Valentina were clearly very annoyed by this, but they knew that nothing they did or said would change a thing.

This afternoon, Valentina called me into her office. I walked in not expecting to see Alek sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. I let out a sigh of aggravation before crossing my arms. I didn't want to stay in the same room as him. I looked at Valentina who clearly acknowledged my annoyance.

"Sit." She said sternly, ignoring it. I rolled my eyes, walking over to the chair beside Alek. I plopped down, my arms still crossed, pouting.

"Thank you." She looked at me. I refused to look over at Alek. She looked back and forth between us.

"Chloe, as you know you just celebrated your eighteenth birthday. You have grown into the Mai you were supposed to be." She paused looking over at Alek. "Now, I know we haven't discussed this but as you grew to your full ability, you are now vulnerable to your Uniter capabilities."

"Capabilities?" I asked confused, still not sure why Alek was here.

"Yes. Now that you are of age, this is your life. I thought I would take a moment to explain this now before I get on to why the two of you are here. As you know, I am a widow. My mate died in an ambush. I have not been with anybody since and do you know why that is?" She asked.

I shook my head no.

"It's because Mai only have one love. They can not mate again. Once you hit eighteen, you are vulnerable to finding your mate. It can happen anytime, even when you least suspect it." I nodded my head, still not sure as to where she was getting.

"Don't worry, that's not why I brought you here." She looked back and forth between the both of us. "I just wanted to let you know this, because I never mentioned it before and I feel it is very important that you know this." She explained.

"I understand…but why is _he_ here?" I asked, my voice throwing daggers as I said he.

"Right…that brings me to the real reason why I asked the two of you in here." She chuckled.

"It seems that other prides have taken an interest in you and want you to join their pride." She told me, clasping her hands together on the desk.

"I don't want to be in another pride." I shook my head.

"As I tried to explain to them. So, they are insisting that you go to New York this month to prove that to them."

I shrugged. "Okay, that's fine." I said.

"It's not as easy as it sound Chloe. They will keep trying to convince you to join their pride. The only way they will back off is if they see you have found your mate in our pride."

My eyes widened as she told me this. I relaxed and said "Okay, so I tell them I have found my mate and that he is from the San Francisco pride. Easy."

"No Chloe! Not easy." She said sternly. "They will want to meet him and since you will be there a month it has to be believable."

I didn't like where this was going. If I was right, she wanted me to pretend…no…she wouldn't.

"So what exactly are you saying?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Don't be so naïve Chloe. She wants us to pretend to be mates so that they will all back off." He said sarcastically.

My nostrils flared as I glared over at him. He didn't turn to look at me. I focused my attention back to Valentina.

"How is this supposed to work? We all know that Alek is definitely not my mate." She chuckled at my remark, I raised an eyebrow.

"If you want to stay here, then you will figure it out." She said. "You're flight leaves tonight at eleven. It's a red eye, but you two will have all day to settle in at the hotel." She opened the drawer of her desk to pull out a folder full of papers. My eyes widened in shock at how soon this was all happening. We left tonight?

"You're tickets are in here and…let's see…" She fumbled through several papers before pulling out one and handing them to me. "Here are the reservations for the hotel, they booked you the terrace suite.

"The Plaza?" I exclaimed. "No way, this is amazing…wait you mean we have to share that room together?" I groaned.

"Well, you two are "mates"." She said with air quotes. "It would be pretty unconvincing if you had a two bedroom suite or two separate rooms now wouldn't it?" She asked.

I fell back in the chair. "Great…can't wait." I mumbled.

"You two better go pack. It's already three. You've got a lot to pack for the month. Now if you'll excuse me." She got up from her chair and left the room.

"Well, this is just peachy." I said, getting up from the chair. Alek ignored me and got up as well.

"What's the matter, you don't have anything to say Alek?" I asked, taunting him.

"What do you want me to say? Ohhh! I can't wait to go live and pretend to be madly in love with The Uniter for a whole month!" He said in fake excitement. I shook my head at him, pursing my lips together.

"Yeah? Well, I sure as hell can't wait to spend a month with the one and only cocky bastard himself!" I yelled, storming out of the room, slamming the door to the office.

A few seconds later I heard something smash in the office. As usual when we fought, he would have a tantrum and throw something. I didn't care if he was angry, how did he think I felt? I let out a huff, going into my room to start packing.

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><p>Valentina and Jasmine dropped Alek and I off at the airport around ten that night. We had our bags and were going through security already. Alek and I had not spoken a word to each other since we exchanged words in Valentina's office.<p>

An hour later we boarded the plane. Of course we had to have assigned seats next to each other. I rolled my bag down aisle. I felt Alek push me, trying to get me to walk faster. I stumbled but was able to regain my balance. I could feel his smirk burning into me which only pissed me off. I got to our cabin and I opened it. My suitcase was pretty heavy for me to lift over my head and Alek didn't even offer to help. I smirked as he sat on the outer seat. I lifted my bag over my head and pretended to lose grip on it. It hit him in the head, not hard but enough to get on his nerves. He jumped up taking the bag from me and putting it in the overhead cabin for me. I smirked in victory and took my seat by the window.

He plopped down beside me, pushing my arm off the arm rest. I gritted my teeth together so I wouldn't lash out and embarrass myself on the plane. This was going to be a great six hour flight.

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><p><strong>So what do you think? I got this idea the other night, and wrote the summary up for it and I am finally writing the first chapter. If you want me to continue just review! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I am amazed at the amount of reviews I got from the first chapter. I'm very iffy about this chapter. I sat here and erased and rewrote so many parts. I really need your feedback on it! Enjoy! This is a really long chapter, so I expect to get plenty of reviews...please? *pleading face*  
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**I DO NOT OWN THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING.**

I leaned against the window. We were just taking off. It had been my first time on a plane so I was a little nervous. I stuck a piece of gum in my mouth and chewed on it. Valentina said it was an old trick so your ears didn't pop. It seemed to work. Looking around I noticed that the plane wasn't as packed as I had expected it to be. The row behind us and the two in front of us were empty.

The lights of the airplane were dimmed and as I looked around I had seen a lot of people getting ready to sleep. I wasn't tired in the least. I was angry, worried, and uncomfortable. I can't believe that Valentina would do this; there could have been another way to keep me in San Francisco than come up with the mating idea. Then, I was worried about how this could work and if they would even believe us. Alek made sure to make the plane ride as uncomfortable as possible. It was bad enough we were going to be glued together for the next month, but we had to sit next to each other on the plane as well.

I stared out the window as we left San Francisco. I looked down at Coit Tower, where it all began. It was hard to believe that two years had passed since I found out everything. I didn't want to think about the past right now. The past two years of my life had been miserable. I took my ipod out of my jacket only to find that it only had half a battery. Annoyed, I sighed and put it back into my pocket. I'd listen to it later.

A minute later, Alek took his ipod out of his pocket and put his headphones on, smirking. I swear that he did it to piss me off because I didn't want to waste my battery. Practically everything he did these days was done intentionally to get on my nerves. It was okay, I would just use my heightened hearing to listen in on his music. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alek scroll down to a playlist and scrolling through a bunch of songs I didn't take the time to read. I decided that I didn't care to hear what he was listening too and blocked everything out. I returned my focus to the world outside the window. Everything was so small out there.

I sighed and pushed back in my chair. I decided that I might as well listen to my ipod. Half a battery was quite a lot and I could at least take my mind off of things, if only for a little while. I took it out of my jacket and put my headphones on. I scrolled down to the playlist I had made that summed up basically how I felt the past two years. I put it on shuffle, too lazy to scroll and see what song I wanted to listen to first. The song that came on was 'Haunted' by Taylor Swift.

It was one of those songs I had on repeat a few months after Alek turned against me. I hadn't heard it in a while so I kept listening to it for the hell of it. The lyrics matched how I had felt those many months ago. Part of me could say it was still true, but after everything, Alek had made me learn to loathe him. I unconsciously began singing it softly as I gazed out the window.

The song was almost over when I was nudged in the arm. I came out of my trance and pulled my earplugs out of my ears.

"What?" I asked sharply and annoyed.

"Could you stop singing your annoying little song?" He asked irritated, his eyes cold.

"Didn't know I was singing in the first place!" I spat back. Trying to contain my emotions at his harshness, I wrapped my headphones back around my ipod, putting it back in my jacket and getting up. I refused to let him see me cry.

"Move." I whispered. He pretended to ignore me. "Oh my god, just move so I can use the bathroom!" He moved only slightly. Aggravated, I stepped on his feet causing him to wince a little. I brushed past him and made my way to the bathroom. I hurried in the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I rested against the door, tilting my head back, trying to keep the tears from spilling. I looked in the mirror and instantly broke down. I slid down the door as I started crying. I couldn't help it, I still loved him no matter how much I tried to hate him.

I didn't know how I was going to get through this trip. It's been two years! You would think he would stop torturing me. Did he have to treat me like crap 24/7? I hate him!

I pushed off the floor and went over to the sink and washed my hands. These bathrooms were so claustrophobic! My face was red and sure enough coated with tears. I wadded up some toilet paper and patted my face, drying it off.

I must have been in there for a while because there was a knock at the door. I took one last look in the mirror, my face was only slightly red and my eyes were dry. I opened the door to see Alek there.

He had either heard me crying or could tell by the redness of my face, but for the first time in years he asked me.

"Are you okay?" He asked. His face was blank, but his eyes glinted with a hint of concern. I scoffed.

"It's not like there's an assassin hiding in the bathroom Alek, just leave me alone." I pushed by him and went back to my seat. He stood there for a moment before following me.

We were silent after that. About halfway through the trip Alek spoke.

"We need to work out a plan that is one hundred percent fool proof." He had looked towards me. I stared straight ahead, not in the mood to talk to him right now.

"Yeah, and since you like things to go your way all the time, what's the plan?" I said flatly.

He shook his head in disbelief at my response and continued.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just improvise when we get there." I huffed at this.

"Whatever Alek. So what exactly are we…mates…engaged?" He seemed speechless when I asked him this.

"I hadn't thought of that. Valentina didn't really bother to elaborate."

"What usually is the case when Mai mate?" I asked, slightly curious, the tension between the two of us clearly noticeable.

"Just like humans. They get engaged, but Mai will also…" He dragged off.

"Also what?" I asked.

"Well…it's different for the Uniter. I only know predictions. That's all anybody knows."

"Oh…" I replied, confused. "What are the predictions?"

He sighed. "I don't remember Chloe, you're gonna have to ask Valentina." He snapped back at me stubbornly.

I glared at him and shook my head. "You are unbelievable!"

I ignored him for the rest of the plane ride. When we landed, we exited the plane. He walked ahead of me, making it hard for me to keep up. We were passing luggage when I stopped.

"Aren't we supposed to pick up our stuff?" I asked.

"Being taken to The Plaza." He said flatly as he kept walking on, not stopping once. I growled as I ran to catch up with him.

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><p>We were outside the airport, there was a car waiting for us. The driver of the car simply held a sign with 'King' written on it. The driver opened the door for Alek and I. He let me get in first before sliding next to me. It was hot, so I took my jacket off.<p>

It was beautiful here. I hoped that sometime during this hectic month I would get the chance to explore the city. It took forever to get to the hotel, but then again it was New York. When we finally arrived, Alek got out and tipped the driver. I got out of the car and looked around at my surroundings. I couldn't believe how big and busy everything was.

I turned to follow Alek before running into somebody. They had been carrying coffee and it smashed against me, scalding my bare skin. I shrieked.

"Watch where you're going, you destroyed my coffee!" They spat at me, no intentions on asking if I was okay. They brushed past me and kept walking.

"Geesh…sorry! I'm fine by the way, in case you're wondering!" I yelled after them, coffee all over me. I heard Alek laughing and I looked up to glare at him.

"What goes around, comes around." He said bluntly, referring to the plane incident, as he shrugged and continued to laugh. "Let's go." He beckoned, before turning around to head into The Plaza. I put my jacket on to cover my drenched shirt and followed after him angrily.

When we walked into The Plaza, I was breathless. It was absolutely beautiful. I followed Alek.

"Reservations for Petrov." He announced.

"Ah, yes…the Terrace Suite. Your luggage arrived and we have brought it to your room." Spoke one of the concierges.

I looked around as Alek checked in. This place was exhilarating. Alek motioned for me to follow. One of the bellhops took the suitcase I was carrying and led us to the elevator.

When we got to the suite I walked in and began exploring, leaving Alek so he could tip the bellhop. Everything was surreal. I couldn't believe this was where I would call home for the next month.

I decided to go upstairs and check out the terrace. One again my mind was blown as I got a view of the city from up here. I took a seat on the ledge and looked down. Wow. The terrace suite was located on the twenty and twenty-first floor. It was absolutely amazing here. I was interrupted all too soon from this.

"What are you doing up there?" Alek asked apprehensively.

"Checking out the view." I said slowly and icily.

"Well, can you do that somewhere else…say somewhere that doesn't have a drastic drop?"

"What do you care?" I scoffed. I heard him snarl.

"It is my duty to…" Angered, I cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah I know! It's your duty to protect me." I got off of the ledge, walking towards the inside of the suite. "Tell me something, is it also your duty to be such an asshole?" I demanded. I saw him scowl before I pushed past him and carried on into the suite.

I walked over to my suitcase that they had delivered to the master bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes. I was going to try and relax in the bath.

I used the downstairs bathroom instead of the one in the bedroom because Alek had turned on the TV. I stripped out of my dirty, coffee stained clothes and sat down in the tub, resting my head on the edge. After a half hour I got out to transfer over to the shower, washing myself and feeling much better afterwards.

I dried off and slipped into some jean shorts and a navy tank top. Putting on my flip flops, I silently walked out of the bathroom and tip toes to the front door of the suite. I figured it would be good to take some me time and explore the city. Thankfully, I had left my purse on the table so if I needed emergency cash or wanted to buy something I could.

I snuck out of the door as quietly as I could before hopping in the elevator. When I had gotten down to the lobby I realized I had forgotten my phone. I thought about going up to get it, but knew Alek wouldn't let me leave without insisting he keep watch or not letting me go at all.

I walked out of the hotel, taking in the city air. Central Park was right across the street so I decided I would spend my day there. There were so many things going on. I was walking through the middle of the park admiring the children playing, the couples holding hands as they strolled and the sketch artists drawing whoever was posing.

I stopped on the Bow Bridge and leaned against the railing as I watched the swans and other ducks swim in the lake. It was so peaceful. I continued to explore the park, going back the way I came. I stopped at the pond and sat on one of the benches around it. I never wanted to leave. I watched as a father threw bread crumbs into the water alongside his daughter who looked about seven or eight. The ducks swarmed to the crumbs causing the daughter to squeal in excitement. I smile at them, thinking back to my childhood.

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><p>I realized that I had been gone for a while and it was time to head back. Arriving back at the plaza, I was greeted by the staff. I couldn't believe how nice everyone was. I went to the elevators and went up to the twentieth floor, just imagining the kind of lecture I would be getting from Alek.<p>

I opened my purse, taking out the room key as I stepped off of the elevator. I unlocked the door and walked in a quietly as I could. Maybe he stayed up stairs this whole time and didn't bother to see if I was downstairs.

My wishful thinking had disappeared as I entered the living room. Alek was sitting on the edge of the sofa, his elbows on his knees and his hands folded together and looking down at the floor.

"Alek." I said startled.

"Where have you been Chloe?" He asked firmly, not looking up.

"I um…just went to Central Park." I explained uneasily.

"Do you have any idea how long you have been gone?" He asked, his jaw tightened.

"No…but…" He cut me off.

"That's right! You don't because you didn't even bother to bring your phone with you. It's been over four hours Chloe." He looked up, scolding me. Before I could answer, he spoke again.

"Do you know the kind of position you put me in?" He grimaced.

"Oh please." I said in an careless tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes.

"I can take care of myself." I assured him in an aggravated tone. He walked over to me so that he was a few inches from me.

"Let me just remind you that if it were up to you, you'd have lost all nine lives by now and taken another victim because of your recklessness!" He said sternly.

This caused my heart to wrench for the first time in weeks. I felt my eyes well up with tears for the second time today. I couldn't believe he kept using this against me when he knew how much it hurt me.

"I hate you." I told him. I hesitated before saying it, but said it nonetheless.

Alek looked taken aback. I had never told him I hated him out loud. I didn't care what how he felt about it either, not right now.

"What is your problem? You can put me down endlessly for two whole years and assume that I don't hate you?" I glared at him, turning around and heading up the stairs. He followed me up the stairs into the bedroom. I whipped around as he approached me.

"I'm sorry." He said genuinely. I raised my eyebrows at him. I waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Look, I don't want to fight with you. I'm sick of it." I said exasperated. I sat down on the edge of the bed exhausted.

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><p><span>Alek's Point Of View<span>

When Chloe hadn't come back upstairs from taking a bath earlier today I panicked. I went down to check on her and she was gone. I went upstairs to call her and found her phone lying near her suitcase. I wanted so badly to go search for her, but stayed hoping she would come back soon. I paced back and forth in the suite for hours. I couldn't sit still. I even went out on the terrace and tried searching for her in the streets below. I had no luck so I went back to pacing. I finally sat on the edge of the couch in the living room. I put my head in my hands, regretting everything from the past two years.

Things got really bad since we found out we were going on this trip. Sure, we would spew venom back and forth on a daily basis, but they were mainly snide remarks. Every few months we would have a blow up and I would throw up what happened two years ago in her face.

It was my fault she hated me. I couldn't let go because of how selfish I had been. I loved Chloe and it angered me that she was in love with Brian. She tried to talk to me after he died, but I just assumed that I was her last resort.

When I heard Chloe crying on the plane, I felt my heart pang. I had been so foolish holding a grudge for so long. I didn't know what to do. When I found her on the ledge on the terrace I was worried and she assumed it was only because I was her protector.

I had caused this, and it was up to me to fix it now.

I sat down on the bed beside her.

"Chloe…" I hesitated.

"Just please don't Alek." She pleaded.

I frowned, wanting to put an end to it and do my best to make up for everything that I had said or done in the past two days. Neither one of us had dated anyone else since it all went down. I thought about her every day. As much as I resented her for what happened, I couldn't help but still have strong feelings for her and I didn't know why. Maybe I should have just listened to her, heard what actually happened, which I thought I knew, but I was beginning to think otherwise. She told me she wanted to tell me something, but I told her I didn't want to hear it…over and over again.

Maybe this trip was the perfect opportunity to make up for everything.

**That's where I'm going to end this chapter. It's late and I'm super tired! I love all the reviews I got on the first chapter. I can only hope I get that much response on this chapter. I'm not very happy with this chapter, but I'm going to post it anyways. I think I needed to push them both to a breaking point. **

**Please review! You know you want to! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so happy that you are all enjoying this. I'm having a blast writing it. I hope it doesn't bore you that I pick up exactly where I left off from the last chapter. I feel it's working the way I'm writing it though. Please remember to review when you finish this chapter! **

**I just wanted to note that it's going to be a while before they actually get together. There will be moments between them before that, but the point of them spending a month together is to get them to bond and realize how stupid they have been the past two years.**

**It's going to be hard, but I hope you will stick with me through it all and continue to read and review! **

**I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King.**

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><p>"I'm going to sleep for a while…I haven't slept in almost 48 hours." Chloe said as she got up, grabbing a pair of shorts and a shirt from her suitcase. I watched her walk into the bathroom and she came out a minute later with her hair tied up in a bun. She was in her black shorts and tank. I tried not to stare at how the clothes hugged her body. She didn't say anything to me or even glance in my direction as she crawled into the bed and snuggled under the covers.<p>

I was exhausted as well, but had too much on my mind to sleep. I got up from the bed and went to sit out on the terrace. I thought back to when Chloe was sitting on the ledge. I had been on edge, thinking she was going to fall.

The city was beautiful, especially from this view. I couldn't help but wonder if things would be different had Chloe and I really been together. I pondered on that thought for a while, imagining her smiling and laughing in our room, cuddling in bed. I imagined us exploring the city together, goofing off in the stores or having lunch in Central Park.

I sighed and walked over to the pantry. I grabbed an apple from the fruit basket that was on the center of the counter. I leaned against the counter as I ate and wondered some more.

For the past two years I have tried to go on without her. For the past two years, I've had a hole in chest, an emptiness that could only be filled by Chloe which I refused to let back in. I made her the enemy. I wanted her to hate me, because I couldn't live with the fact that she loved someone other than me. I couldn't help falling for her. Once I did, it was too late. I overheard what she told her mother. I was her second choice, either that or just who she settled for because she couldn't have who she really wanted.

I thought I was doing everything that I could for her, and yet she loved _him._ I let my guard down, one that I had built up for so long. She came into my life and destroyed it. I admit, that I resent her. I've tried to stop arguing with her but it never happens. She storms out and I throw or hit something. That's how it was with us. I wish I could take it all back.

Every time we touch, I feel like forgetting everything that happened, but I just can't. Whether I am saving her in a fight or training, every touch gives me chills. I then remember how she made me feel so I return to my hateful comments, and she gives it right back. These games that we've played have devoured us into a black hole.

I tossed the apple core in the trash and I walked back into the bedroom. Chloe was sound asleep. I crossed my arms, watching her. She looked peaceful, it was a change from pained or annoyed expressions she had these last two years. I sighed and went to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. I looked in the mirror. My eyes were blood shot and I had bags under my eyes.

I decided to take a shower and try to take my mind off of things. I stripped out of my clothes and jumped in. I was greeted by the hot water stream down my back. Not being able to take my mind off things, my mind wandered back to the conversation I had with Valentina before Chloe walked in.

"_You know what the predictions are Alek." She told me seriously, her hands clasped together on the desk._

"_Yeah, so what? They're just predictions." I said frustrated._

"_I think it's a little more serious than that." She replied._

"_I don't. It's obvious we hate each other." I rolled my eyes._

"_Yeah, it's obvious alright." She shot back in a way I couldn't understand. _

"_What's that supposed to mean?" I asked._

"_You know what I'm talking about." She said, sadly I did know, but I would never admit that I still had feelings for her. I gazed over at a bookshelf in the corner of the office._

"_That's why you're going to New York with her. They won't question it since you are a part of the prophecies." She continued._

"_I really don't want to do this. Isn't there some other way to keep her in San Francisco?" I asked._

"_Not that I can think of. You two just need to make it believable. One month…that's all. Argue and shout all you want behind closed doors, I don't care! But when you are at the events that you are supposed to go to, you two better act like the mates you were predicted to be." _

_I sighed as she went on. She didn't say another word until Chloe walked in. I sat there in silence, grimacing in my seat. _

As I came out of my flashback, I couldn't help but think of the prophecies. Valentina sat me down a few months after what happened and told me all about them. The predictions were that Chloe's true mate would be her sole protector. I was her sworn protector from the day we found out she was the Uniter. There was a whole section on it, but I refused to read it. Valentina urged me to, but I couldn't bring myself to. Unfortunately it seemed as if the predictions were wrong and I was doomed. She didn't love me back; she had already fallen for someone she could never have…especially now that he was dead. She had been reckless enough to kiss him. After everything I warned her about, and yet she continued to see him. She disregarded anything and everything I had ever said. I hated her for this, she drove me insane! She was stubborn and careless. Had I known what I did now, the predictions, I would have just listened to what she had to say. Maybe she would have loved me back and things would be better.

I turned the water off after I finished washing and realized I had forgotten a change of clothes.

"Dammit." I muttered. I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out of the bathroom. I noticed Chloe was no longer sleeping and definitely not in the bedroom. Aggravated I walked out of the bedroom, the towel wrapped loosely around my waist. I stopped when I saw her in the pantry.

She turned abruptly, I caught her eyes widen a little when she looked at me.

"Do you always have to disappear on me?" I spat, she looked shocked. "What are you doing?" I added quickly.

"I'm hungry." She said, the agitation clear in her voice. I immediately felt bad for jumping on her for just trying to get something to eat.

"Oh…me too…so I guess order room service?" I said plainly. She nodded her head and I hesitated, wanting to say something else but turned around to go get dressed.

* * *

><p><span>Chloe's Point Of View<span>

I woke up and heard the shower going. I couldn't have slept more than an hour and a half. I was exhausted, but I was starving. I got out of bed and headed to the pantry. There was a lot of snacks, a bowl of fruits, and candies lined up. I was about to look at the room service menus when Alek ran in. Wow, that was a sight to see. Water was dripping from his shaggy hair onto to his chiseled chest and abs. His body was glistening with water. My eyes looked down to see he was only wrapped in a towel. My eyes widened when I saw the structured V of his hip bones leading down into the towel. As much as I had despised him today, I couldn't deny the physical attraction I had for him. My thoughts were interrupted when he scolded me.

Why did I always disappear on him? What the hell, can't I go into another room without him jumping on me?

"I'm hungry." I said flatly, annoyed by his remark.

"Oh…me too…so I guess order room service?" I nodded slowly, confused by his sudden change in tone. He turned around and went back to the bedroom.

I grabbed the menu off of the counter and looked through it. I saw some pretty fancy dishes, many too rich for my taste tonight. Simple finger food would do just fine. I scanned the menu, having no luck. I flipped to the back and was pleased to find a section called 'Burgers and Sliders'. I decided I would order a burger and a Greek salad.

I walked back to the bedroom to find Alek changed into hunter green sweats and a tan Henley shirt. He was unpacking his suitcase, putting his clothes into the right side of the dresser.

"So um, I figured out what want…do you want to order?" I asked him, he looked up briefly and went back to putting clothes in the drawers.

"Yeah, that's fine…what are you getting?" He asked.

"I want the food hall burger with American cheese instead of the gorgonzola and a Greek salad." I said. "Oh and no tomatoes!" I added.

He looked at me and raised his eyebrows quickly. "They actually have burgers on the menu?" He asked amused. He walked over taking the menu from me.

"Good, I'm starved." He scanned the menu quickly and then walked over to the phone.

"Hi, yes room service please." He spoke into the phone. "Hi, I'm in the terrace suite. I'd like to order two food hall burgers, both with American cheese instead of gorgonzola and without tomatoes. Uh huh, that's right. I'd also like one Greek salad and is there any way I can get regular fries? I only see parmesan fries listed on the menu." He chuckled to the man on the other end. "That's perfect, thank you." He hung up and looked over at me.

"Done."

"I can see that." I said, crossing my arms and nodding towards the now hung up phone.

* * *

><p>A half hour later, there was a knock on the door. Alek and I both went downstairs. The butler wheeled in a cart that held our meals.<p>

Alek tipped this man as well as I lifted the cover off the platters. I grabbed the plates that were mine and headed back up the stairs. I went out on the terrace, placing my plates on the table and running into the pantry to get something to drink. I decided to grab something for Alek as well while I was there.

A moment later, Alek came out with his plates.

"You're eating out here?" He asked, placing his plates on the table.

"Mhmm hmm. Got you something to drink." I said, hoping for a civilized dinner at least.

"Thanks." He sat down and opened his drink, taking a gulp.

We both dug into our burgers. They were delicious. We didn't say anything to each other while we ate. We both gazed at our surroundings. The city at night was more breathtaking than it was during the day. Alek had already finished his burger and was eating his fries, dipping the in ketchup. I finished my burger and decided to make small talk as I dug into my salad.

"What's on the agenda for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Tomorrow is free, tomorrow night we have to meet with some of the prides. It's going to be pretty formal from what I've been told so I hope you packed enough dresses."

I frowned as he said this. "Actually I didn't." I took a bite of my salad.

"Really…not at all?" He asked curiously. I shook my head no as I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, not sure why not but it's a good thing you have all day tomorrow to go get some."

"How many formal events are there going to be?" I asked, slightly in shock.

"Most of them are formal. I can't believe Valentina wasn't more specific." He said in disbelief.

"Yeah…well, she wasn't really clear or specific on anything regarding this trip." I added. He nodded in agreement, finishing his dinner. He leaned back in his chair and watched me.

"So you've been to these before?" I asked.

"Well, I've been to a lot of formal events in the past but not in years. It's not going to be ritzy ritz kind of formal, just cocktail dresses and tuxedo events. I think there are one or two extremely formal events, but that's it." He explained.

"Oh, okay. That will be easy to shop for then I guess." I said as I finished my salad. I gathered my plates to bring them back to the cart when Alek stopped me.

"I'll get them." I raised an eyebrow at how unusually pleasant he was being. I wasn't complaining so I played along.

I got up and walked over to the ledge and looked down. It was an extremely far drop. I cringed at the thought of falling and took a step back. I looked up at the sky, watching the stars. There weren't as many here as there was back in San Francisco. I turned around and grabbed our empty drinks, taking them inside and tossing them in the trash. Alek was coming back up the stairs as I made my way back into the bedroom. I was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

It dawned on me that there was only one bed and that we would be sharing it. I groaned inwardly as I dragged myself towards it. I scurried over the bed and got under the covers with a plan. I laid directly in the middle of the bed on my stomach. I grabbed a pillow and put my head to the side, one arm under and one arm over. I sprawled my legs out, taking up as much space as I could.

I shut my eyes as I heard him approach the bed and pull the covers back. I heard him sigh and I tried to hold in a satisfied laugh.

"Chloe, shove over." I ignored him. "I know you're awake, move over." I didn't answer him, pretending I was asleep.

"God dammit Chloe I'm tired…move!" He scowled. I groaned, picking my head up to look at him.

"Can't you sleep on the floor or sofa or something?" I asked annoyed.

"And let you get the comfortable bed? Hell no. I need comfort too and I'm not going to find it on a flat floor or a small couch. Now, move." He leaned over and placed his hands on my hips pushing me over. He jumped in the bed quickly so I couldn't block him again.

I growled and moved over. "Asshole." I muttered.

"Whatever, either way I win." He said victoriously. I let out a big huff and shut off the lamp on my side of the bed.

He shut his lamp off as well and I fell asleep shortly after that.

* * *

><p>The next morning I awoke with his arm wrapped around me loosely. Instead of savoring the moment, I ignored how it nice it felt and groaned. I brought my hand up and rubbed my eyes.<p>

"Ugh, Alek what time is it?" I asked.

"Hmmm?" Was all that I got in return, in addition to his arm wrapping around me a little tighter.

"What time is it?" I asked louder, not moving.

"Oh…umm." He jumped, his arm quickly removing itself off of me as he rolled over. I heard him pick up his phone. "It's 8:30, we need to get up." He stated. I rolled slowly onto my back, looking up at the ceiling.

"What time is the thing?" I asked, referring to the event I had been dreading. I wasn't ready to act like Alek was my mate. Things were just too…rigid between us.

"Not till six, but we have things to do beforehand remember?" He reminded me of the formal wardrobe that I didn't seem to have. I groaned, sitting up.

"I'll take that as my cue to go shower." I got off the bed, heading for my suitcase.

"Are you ever going to unpack?" He asked, amused. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Eh, probably tonight or tomorrow." I replied, not really wanting to deal with it right now.

"Be out soon." I said, surprised that we hadn't argued yet.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I jumped in the shower and washed up. When I got out, I dried off and changed into my blue skinny jeans. I threw on a brown tank top that had little brown and gold beads around the neckline.

I brushed out my hair that was nearly untamable when it was wet. I scowled as my brush pulled at my hair. I dried it and tied it into a loose braid that hung over my shoulder. I put on a light copper eye shadow and mascara. I applied the finishing touches with a pale pink lip stain that I usually wore.

I walked into the bedroom to see Alek walking back in. He was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt.

"You showered already?" I asked. He nodded and raised his hands to gesture to the two Frappuccinos in his hands.

"Even went down and got Starbucks." I lunged towards him.

"Ooh, my favorite." I took the Frappuccino from him and took one long drink. He raised an eyebrow at me as he took a sip of his own.

"Thanks."

"Yep. Took you long enough to get ready." He replied sarcastically. "You finally ready to go?" He asked annoyed.

I nodded, irritated by how quickly his tone altered. I went over and put on my brown ankle boots and grabbed my purse, making sure I had my wallet and cell phone.

"Let's go." I walked ahead of him wondering what kind of day we had ahead of us.

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 3! What do you think is going to happen when they go shopping and also the first official meeting with pride members? That will all be in the next chapter, so expect it to be a long one!<strong>

**I'm trying not to be super descriptive when it comes to what they are doing or getting changed into. Someone once reviewed and said I was too descriptive, so I try to be extremely careful about that. The first quarter of the next chapter is going to be super descriptive since she will be trying on clothes, but the rest of it will be back to normal. Alek will be there to give his opinion, and I think I will write it in his point of view too. We'll see. **

**Let me know what you think though. I really enjoy reading all your reviews and I look forward to them when I get up. **

**So please review. You know you want to. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

***UPDATE* Same chapter, but I realized there were a few errors that desperately needed to be fixed. I was a little dissapointed when I woke up and didn't see as many reviews as I usually do...does this mean you didn't like the chapter or hated the Chalek part at the end?  
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**Okay, so I am going to be extremely descriptive in this chapter. In the beginning, I am also going to be changing the point of views from Alek to Chloe. I just want you to experience these situations from both points of view. I feel they are more personal in 1****st**** person rather than me writing in just 3****rd**** person, so I am going to stick with that. It is close to 6 am so I am exhausted. I will comb through and fix any mistakes when I wake up.  
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**Also, I couldn't help myself. All dresses that are going to be mentioned in the chapter will have a link in my profile. So, if you want to check out each of these dresses, feel free to go to my profile to do so, otherwise you don't have to. Ignore the prices, just remember…the Mai are doing okay. ;)**

**This is going to be quite a long chapter, but so far I have heard no complaints. Some of you even want them longer. Also, a lot of you want them together right away. I can guarantee that they will end up together, and have moments every now and then, but it's not going to happen overnight. Please stick around, you won't regret it when you read when they finally get together.**

**I'm going to stop blabbing and let you get to the reading, so please remember to review afterwards. I cannot tell you how much the reviews of this story have kept me writing it.**

* * *

><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

We were outside of The Plaza. We had a big day ahead of us. I had to go and find dresses for all the Mai events that Valentina failed to mention were all formal. I had packed mainly jeans and a few casual dresses, but from what Alek was telling me, these were pretty formal.

"So…where to first?" I asked, taking a sip of my Frappuccino and looking at my surroundings. I felt like an ant in this massive city.

"I guess we'll start at what's closest and go from there." He sighed, also looking around.

"Come on." He motioned me to follow him. We went right, going by the Pulitzer Fountain. We walked through there and turned so that we would be on Fifth Avenue. The first place I saw was Bergdorf's and I thought this would be the perfect place to start.

We walked until we got to the dress section. Alek plopped down in a chair outside of the dressing rooms.

"Okay…" I said slowly. "So, what I'm supposed to just try on dresses? I don't even know what exactly I'm looking for."

"That's why I'm here. I've done this before. So, just pick out whatever and try it on and I will have the unfortunate pleasure of telling you if they will work." He said carelessly.

"Great…" I said with a dragging dullness.

I started looking through the racks and all the mannequins that were on display. I was overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded me. I grabbed quite a few dresses as I explored the racks and went to the dressing room, passing by an apathetic Alek.

I began sorting through the dresses. Most of them were pale shades, all of them I wondered about being right for everything. Bergdorf's didn't really had a lot of dresses that I was into, so I only had a couple.

I started by taking a burgundy colored Dolce & Gabbana ruched satin dress off its hanger. I slid into it easily, pulling it up as it grasped onto the curves of my body. It had a draped square neckline with a crossover bust. It really made my chest pop out without looking too provocative.

I opened the door to the dressing room I was in. Alek looked up and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not bad. It would work for one of the meetings that we have to go to." He exclaimed.

"Very enthusiastic." I replied as I walked over to the floor-length mirrors. I turned, checking to see how the dress looked at all angles.

"I'm just saying." He threw his hands up defensively. I threw him a sluggish glance as I walked back into the dressing room. I stripped out of this dress and took the next dress of its hanger, weary of it.

"Hey Alek?" I called out.

"Hmmm…?" He replied.

"When you said there would be a few events that were super formal, you meant gowns right?" I asked, still weary of the white gown I held in my hands.

"Pretty sure, yeah." He called back. I let out a breath as I began to pull this dress on.

It was a Zac Posen Mermaid Gown. This one also had a square neckline. It was white and had cap sleeves. There was a corset design and feel beneath the bust. It drifted down towards my ankles until it flared out in the back. It was very beautiful, but I was unsure of how it would look.

I walked out of the dressing room again to meet Alek's stare.

"I think I can do better, but it's not bad…maybe in a different color…" I suggested.

"It's nice." Was all he said. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He didn't, instead he just looked ahead, as if he was looking right pass me. I huffed and turned to go back in the dressing room.

"You know, a more descriptive response would be appreciated. I really have no idea what I'm looking for." I complained to him through the room.

"Fine, I'll try better." He replied, his tone flat.

I had one last dress to try on here, and it had been my favorite so far. It was an Oscar de la Renta. It was made from tulle and chiffon and shimmered in even the smallest amount of light. It went below the knee a little bit and had an enclosed back. I put it on and smiled in the mirror at how much it complimented my complexion.

I walked out of the dressing room. Alek sat up, as he looked me up and down.

"That's really pretty actually." He conveyed meaningfully.

"Really?" I smiled at his reaction, going over to mirror and spinning slowly around. It spun out under me, glimmering all the while.

"Yeah, definitely get that one." He responded. I nodded and went back into the dressing room.

I was done with dresses here and was ready to move onto the next place. We went and paid for the dresses. Instead of taking them with us, they told us they would be delivered to The Plaza. Pleased by this, I walked back onto the busy streets of New York.

We passed by several other stores. Some of which I went in and bought a piece of jewelry or a pair of shoes. We stopped and grabbed a slice of pizza from a popular pizza joint. We had a pretty normal conversation about how much there was to do in the city. It was surprisingly nice to talk to Alek like this again. We came across Bloomingdales and I decided to check out the dresses there. Alek took his seat in one of the chairs outside the dressing rooms again as I searched for dresses.

My eyes widened when I saw a dress that had a princess feel to it and knew I had to have it. I scanned the racks, coming across a few more dresses and taking them with me to try on.

I had to admit that Bloomingdales was my new favorite store. The dresses they carried were so elegant. I bought practically every dress that I tried on from there, and there were a lot. Alek wasn't really that much of a help. He would continuously just tell me that it was pretty, or it was nice. He never really gave an input.

The good thing was that we had yet to really argue that day. It was so far very pleasant until we went to Sak's Fifth Avenue. I once again had a handful of dresses to try on.

I first tried on a Herve Ledger crisscross bandage dress. It was peach-toned and very snug on me, which really showed off my hourglass shape. I walked, waiting for Alek's approval which I knew I would get once again.

"It's not really an evening dress, but it would be good for an afternoon event." He suggested and I realized that he was right…surprisingly.

Next, I picked out an ABS multi-gold sequined tank dress that I knew would not be appropriate but I wasn't able to take my eyes off of it. Maybe there would be a point in time this month I could wear it out for fun...if Alek would let me have any fun that is. I walked out of the room, Alek's mouth hung open a little.

"What?" I asked.

He closed his mouth and his eyes roamed over my body.

"Nothing, you just look like a prostitute." He stated. I was taken aback by his words.

"It looks as thin as paper and barely covers your legs." He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes, going back into the dressing room and changing quickly out of this dress. I was mad, but I wasn't going to let him get to me. I threw on the next dress that I had my eye on. This one was an Aiden Mattox. It was gold-beaded and was also a one shoulder dress. I stepped out of the dressing room again. I could have sworn I saw a flicker in Alek's eyes as he gazed at me. I saw his eyes roam over me and I became nervous, waiting for what he would say. I thought he would say something nice, but I was completely wrong.

"That's funny, now you just look desperate." He said harshly. I was shocked and hurt. I looked around to see a few women glance up. I was embarrassed.

"It barely covers you! It's even shorter than the last one…just being honest." He spat, tossing his hands up. I could feel my chest heaving. I was angry and on the verge of tears. I spun around and raced back into the dressing room, trying to catch my breath.

* * *

><p><span>Alek's POV<span>

_You idiot! _I thought to myself. What the hell was the matter with me? I can't believe I had just told Chloe she looked desperate. She was far from the type. I instantly regretted my words as soon as they came out of my mouth.

I tried to retrace my thoughts as to figure out what the hell possessed me to say such an awful thing. All day I had watched her try on dresses. Each one flattered her flawlessly. It was getting to me. There were dresses that wrapped around her so nicely that I couldn't pull my gaze from her. I thought I was keeping it cool when I told her she looked nice or it was pretty. What I really wanted to tell her was that she looked breathtaking, enchanting, gorgeous and so much more. She looked like an angel in everything she tried on. Even the dresses that were ugly on the hanger, she seemed to pull off. She looked like an actual goddess.

I had no idea why she had tried on such promiscuous dresses all of the sudden. When she came out of the stall with the thin dress she looked extravagant. It was a loose dress, but it seemed to naturally flow around her figure somehow. Gold was a beautiful color on her. For some reason, I told her she looked like a prostitute and she turned back to the stall in a rush. As she walked away, I couldn't help but watch the material flow around her backside.

This game was going too far between us and I had a feeling that I had just really crossed the line. When she came out in the second dress, my eyes lit up when I saw her. Her long, lean legs were being shown off in this dress. The dress was extremely short and fit her like a glove.

I had let my walls down for a moment as I captured her gaze. We were both looking into each other's eyes for a split second. She looked ravishing, I wanted to get out of the chair and devour her right there. So many thoughts crossed through my mind when I snapped back to my previous state. I quickly looked away and told her she looked desperate. It was the farthest thing from my mind, but the quickest thing that came to mind as I tried to rebuild my wall.

I tried to justify my words by remarking about how short it was, but it was clear that I had hurt her. She turned quickly and practically ran back into the stall. I could hear her breathing heavily as if she was trying to hold in a scream. I shook my head when a woman approached me.

"That was a horrible thing to say to that beautiful young lady you have with you." She lectured.

"I know." I hung my head ashamed of myself.

"I suggest if you want her to stick around you start treating her with a little respect. You don't find a girl as beautiful and charming as that every day." She added before walking away. I lifted my head, watching her walk away, her words sinking in.

* * *

><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

I changed back into my clothes and grabbed some of the dresses I had decided to buy, including the two that Alek had told me I looked like a prostitute and desperate in. I was beyond pissed. Today had been fine. It was nice to not be arguing with Alek or put down with snide remarks. I thought we might actually get along for once, but then he had to say those things. I felt like he had punched me in the gut. Now he thought I was desperate for something…or someone?

I stormed passed Alek as I left the dressing room. He quickly followed me over to the check-out counter. I laid all the dresses on the counter as the clerk checked me out. Alek had his hands in his pockets as his eyes fluttered to the gold dresses.

"You're getting those?" He asked uneasily.

"Yup." I said, not even looking at him. I smiled at the clerk.

"But…" I cut him off before he could say something worse.

"I am going to take a break some point in this trip and I'm going have fun and wear what I want. I don't really care what you think Alek." He grimaced at my stern and cold tone.

I asked the woman to have my bags delivered to The Plaza. We were walking out of the store when Alek stopped me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did, or say that at all I just…" He stopped, as if looking for the right words. "I was just being protective." He stated firmly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can protect myself when it comes to the gazes and raging hormones of a human." I scoffed.

"Not what I meant." He said adamantly.

"You know what Alek, just save it okay?" I walked away and he followed me as we walked back towards The Plaza. It was around 3:30 and we had to get ready for the first meeting with the other prides.

I completely ignored Alek as we walked back into our suite. I was surprised to see how many dresses and other bags had been delivered back to the suite. I would definitely have to organize when we got home tonight. I was heading towards the staircase so I could refresh myself.

"Chloe wait." I stopped abruptly on the first step, slowly turning to face Alek but not looking directly at him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you you looked desperate. That was wrong of me, and it wasn't true. You actually looked…stunning in those dresses. All of them." He said cautiously. This caused me to look at him oddly, surprised by his words.

"Look…" I jumped a little when he reached over and took my hands in his. He didn't let go, but held them firmly. "I was thinking about what you said last night. I'm tired of fighting too. I wish we could." He stopped, looking hopeful. "I just wish we could get along."

I was speechless. I didn't know how to reply to him. I wanted to try to tell him what I've wanted to tell him for over two years. I wanted to go back to our witty banter and playfulness that I longed for. I wanted to tell him that underneath this hateful shield I loved him, but I couldn't bring myself to it.

"Alek…we have to get ready." I managed to say.

"We have time to talk." He said softly. He didn't let go of my hands as he guided me over to the sofa. We both sat down, our knees touching. I looked down, anywhere was better than looking into his eyes and losing myself.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Everything." This caused me to look up at him in confusion.

"Everything?" I asked uneasily. He nodded his head.

"Starting with what you wanted to tell me two years ago." He replied genuinely. I gulped quietly as I let my hands slip out from under his.

"Alek, I can't." I started getting up. He gently grabbed my arm.

"Please." He begged. I sat back down, looking anywhere but him again.

"It's been too long." I said bleakly.

"Maybe…but I was stupid not to listen to what you had to say before." I raised my eyebrows as he admitted to being stupid.

"I know I probably don't deserve to hear it after everything that's happened, but…I just need to." He continued. I looked back up at him.

I hesitated before I started. This was my chance to tell him everything, but I was afraid of how he would react. He looked sadly into my eyes so I took a deep breath and wondered if I would regret what I was about to say.

"Well…you don't know the whole story from that night." He cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"You know I was killed, but you don't really know what really happened with Brian." I paused, waiting for him to interrupt, but he didn't.

"When I woke up, Brian was leaning into me, telling me he loved me. The next thing I knew he was kissing me. I was weary at the moment and I honestly didn't know what I was doing. I did kiss him back, but I instantly pushed him away. Not just because he was human, but because…because I wanted it to be you that I kissed. I didn't want to be in love with him, because I was falling for you."

I didn't look up once when I told him this, too afraid to see the expression on his face.

"Chloe…" He started, but I stopped him.

"Don't…it's too late." I looked up and gave him a small smile before getting up and traveling up the staircase.

* * *

><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

_It's too late._ Her words rang through my ears. Was it too late? What did she mean by that? Did she think I didn't love her anymore…or did she no longer feel that way about me? The questions raced through my mind as I heard Chloe changing upstairs.

I decided that it was time to ask these questions. If there was still the slightest chance that I could be with her then I had to try. I walked up the stairs to the bedroom. The sight I saw when I walked in the room was once again breath-taking.

Chloe was wearing the Oscar de la Renta dress she bought from Bergdorfs. She looked at me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"How do I look?" She asked shyly.

"Beautiful." I replied astonished at how much more beautiful she looked now than she had in it before. I saw her blush, before turning around to pick out a pair of earrings. She chose pearls. I smiled in amazement at her elegance.

"Chloe?" I stepped towards her slowly. She acknowledged me so I continued. "What did you mean when you said it was too late?" I heard her let out a soft sigh.

"Meaning, it was a long time ago and I don't think you feel the same way." She said nervously.

"Do you still feel that way?" I asked, pushing my hopes to the next level. She looked at me through the mirror.

"Maybe." She answered, her voice shaky. I managed to smile.

"Look…" I said, careful of what to say next. "I know a lot has happened in the past two years. We've both said things we didn't mean to say and I've definitely said things that I have beaten myself up over day after day…" I cut myself off.

"I resented you for so long because I didn't take the time to listen to what you said and now especially I can't help but wonder what if? What if we could go back, we would have never hurt each other for so long, never would be standing here having a conversation that we could have had two years ago. Most of all I haven't been able to help thinking how different this situation would be if it were real." I couldn't stop talking. Everything that has been bothering me was just pouring out of my mouth and I couldn't control it.

"I've tried so hard to forget about you, but I can't Chloe…I can't." I finished. I wanted to kiss her desperately, but deep down I knew it wouldn't be this easy.

"I don't know what to say Alek…" She trailed off.

"Then don't." I said and grabbed her by the waist. I brought her into me and kissed her. I put my one hand on her cheek as the other grasped her waist. All the good memories that we had shared were running through my mind. I took her lips between my, savoring everything about her.

"I'm nothing without you Chloe." I said when we finally broke the kiss. My hand was still on her cheek and I watched as her blue eyes flicker with lust. "I meant it when I said we belong together two years ago and I still mean it."

She looked down, blushing and then back up at me before letting out a gentle laugh.

"So I suppose we are going to the event as a real couple after all?" I chuckled when she asked this.

I looked at the clock and noticed it was now 5:30 and we had to be there at six.

"Oh wow. I hope so, and I hope we can get there on time." I jumped. I gave her a quick peck on the lips before rushing to change into my suit.

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><p><strong>So, I hope you are super happy with this chapter. I'm unsure of it as usual. I must have played with this idea for hours. I was originally going to do something different and I changed some things that were in this chapter, but this is the final product and I seriously hope that you like it. <strong>

**But…let me say this. You didn't think it would be this easy for them right? There are still going to be a lot of ups and downs with them so you need to prepare yourself for those. **

**I am putting the links up for all the dresses mentioned in this chapter on my profile, so feel free to check them out. If you can't see them, please let me know and I will PM the links to you. **

**As always, read and review. I have really got to post chapters to my other stories, so I'm going to need a lot of reviews in order to get the next chapter of this up tonight. You have no idea how these reviews inspire me for the next chapter.**

**You know you want too…especially after this Chalek chapter! ;)  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I really enjoyed reading your reviews and messages from the last chapter. I will say this though. Some of you will be unhappy with the beginning of this chapter, but bear with me…I'm telling you, you won't regret it as this story progresses. **

**I hope that you will all Read and Review! Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

"Alek!" I heard Chloe scream. I heard quick footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Wha…what's wrong?" I jumped up from my position on the couch. When did I get back down here? I looked around, scanning for something wrong, still half-asleep.

"It's 5:00! We have to leave!" She said frantically. "Go get dressed!"

_What the hell? _I thought. No way had I fallen asleep. I just told Chloe everything and she…wait. It was just a dream? No, it can't have been. It was too real. I sat up, dumbfounded at the situation I was in.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, confused and staring blankly at the floor.

"Well, let's just say I went upstairs to get ready, now I'm back and you were asleep." She rushed to say. "Now, seriously come on I don't want to be late!"

I scratched my head, my mind blown as I slowly got up. I looked at Chloe to see that she wasn't wearing the Oscar de la Renta dress. She was wearing one of the hotel robes.

"Why aren't you dressed? I thought you were wearing the Oscar de la Renta…" I dragged off.

"I just finished my makeup. I haven't even picked out the dress." She said firmly. "Why is that the one I should wear?" She asked hesitantly.

I nodded my head as I followed her back up the stairs. She quickly sorted through some of the dresses that were piled on the bed before pulling out the right one. She hurried into the bathroom with it and shut the door.

She had laid my tux out for me. I quickly began to change into it, still confused as to how much was really a dream. I walked over to the mirror, putting on the bow-tie. I styled my hair as usual, giving it a quick brush through and shaking my fingers in it so it had a semi-messy look.

"Alek?" I heard the bathroom door creak open and looked over as she clung the dress to her.

"Um…can you zip me up? I can't reach it or I would." I chuckled as she held the dress to her and walked over to me.

"How did you zip it up at the store?" I asked.

"Not easily, believe me." She remarked.

I let my hands go down to the zipper. Her bare back was smooth and creamy. I saw the band of the nude colored strapless bra she was wearing. I let my fingers lightly graze her skin as I zipped up the back of the dress for her. I could feel her shiver against my touch as I slowly finished.

"Thanks." She murmured before walking over to grab a pair of earrings. Ironically enough, she chose pearls.

I cleared my throat nervously and decided to test out what may have happened.

"Chloe, what did you mean when you said it was too late?" I asked unsure if it had even happened. The only guess I had was that I feel asleep and never followed her up the stairs after our talk.

She stopped, looking at me through the mirror.

"Alek…" She paused. "We can't talk about this right now." She must have seen the flash of disappoint in my face because she continued. "If you had followed me upstairs instead of falling asleep, we could have talked a little but now we are running super late."

I nodded my head, but still pushed on. "So, I never followed you upstairs?" She gave me a confused look. Actually, she looked at me like I was crazy.

"No…why?" She asked.

"Nothing, I just had a really weird dream." I let out a small laugh and put my arm behind my head, embarrassed.

"Okay…" She dragged off. "We have to go, are you ready?" She sat down on the edge of the bed and put on a pair of heels that matched the color of the dress.

I shook my head, coming out of my daze. "Yeah, let's go."

I was disappointed that everything I had thought happened upstairs had been just a dream. I was pleased that I knew the truth, but then I remembered her saying it was too late. I had never followed her upstairs, I had fallen asleep. Curse jetlag.

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

Wow, Alek had been acting super weird since I woke him up. He claimed that he had some sort of weird dream. I wondered what exactly that dream was about. For now, I couldn't worry about it nor could I worry about how I had finally been truthful to Alek. He finally let me tell him what I wanted to tell him two years ago. I was sure it was too late now. There was no way that he had felt that way now. I put all those thoughts in the back of my mind and started worrying about the first event that was less than an hour away.

We left the suite and were in the elevator when it dawned on me that I had no idea where we were going.

"So where exactly are we meeting them?" I asked.

"We've been asked to meet at the pride leader of New York's penthouse. Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours. It's really just a meet and greet." He explained as I nodded my head.

We were escorted by a town car to the upper east side of Manhattan. The driver opened the door for us as we got out. Alek walked by me rather closely as we made our way to the sixteenth floor of this particular building. I was a little surprised that the elevator had opened right into the penthouse. This place was huge and decorated more like a bachelor's pad. Black, grey, and red being the color theme.

It was a full house. Caterers were even carrying platters of hors d'oeuvres and glasses of champagne. A man in his mid-thirties and blond hair approached us, offering his hand.

"Ahh, Alek…so good to see you again." He greeted Alek first, shaking his hand. "You must be Chloe." He asked, turning to me and shaking my hand. "I'm Jonathon and I'm the pride leader of New York. We can't begin to tell you what an honor it is to have you here." He smiled.

"Thanks…it's ummm nice to be here." I laughed nervously. He motioned for us to follow him. I looked hesitantly at Alek wondering how I was doing and he smiled assuring me that I was doing fine.

"Now before we get on to the other guests, I'd like you to meet my son Jason." He turned and glanced at a tall man with blonde hair, his back turned to us. He was chatting with a few men who looked a year or two older than Alek and I. "Jason." His father called. The boy turned around. He had piercing blue/green eyes and a square-chiseled jaw. His blonde hair was a careless mess. It reminded me of how Alek wore his hair. He smiled a crooked smile and walked over to us.

"Jason, you've met Alek." They both nodded at each other. "This is Chloe King, the Uniter." Jason's eyes flickered towards me and grinned. I held out my hand which he gladly took, bringing it up to lay a kiss on. I couldn't help but blush.

"Pleasure to meet you. We've heard many things about you." I bit my lip, hiding my smile. I was impressed by his charm. I bowed my head down and back up.

"Likewise." I replied. We briefly stared into each other's eyes before I heard Alek clear his throat.

"It's good to see you again Jason." Alek said firmly, I could hear the spite in his voice. I wasn't sure why, but I was happy that Jason or his father didn't catch on to it.

"Alright, so I suppose you can mingle and introduce yourselves to the other prides." Jonathon said politely. He nodded at the two of us before walking away to talk to some man that looked to be in his forties.

Jason put his hands in his pocket and swayed back and forth. "So, I guess I'll leave you both to it then." He said, giving a small smile and going over to join his father.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alek leaned towards me, whispering in my ear.

"What?" I whispered back defensively.

"We're supposed to be together, not flirting with other Mai." He said sternly.

"I wasn't flirting, just being friendly." I told him cordially.

From there, we made rounds greeting pride members from all over. It was exhausting. Alek knew a good majority of them all. Alek and I stuck by each other's side the whole time, but weren't very intimate. Alek told me that we needed to be more business-like when greeting people. Once we greeted everyone, we had to announce our commitment. I was extremely nervous by this.

"I'll be right back. I want to talk with one of the members of the London pride." Alek said. I nodded my head as walked over and greeted someone. They greeted each other like old friends. I smiled as I watched this interaction. It had been a while since I had seen Alek laugh or smile in that way.

"Having fun?" A voice asked me from behind. I whipped around to be greeted by Jason again.

"Hey, yeah. You know, other than the repetitive "Hi, I'm Chloe. Great to meet ya!" I said overly enthusiastic. He laughed, bringing his thumb up and brushing it on his chin. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, it can be pretty…incessant." He joked. I pursed my lips, once again trying to contain a laugh.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"So, you like the city so far?" He changed the subject.

"I love the city. It's better than imagined." I replied.

"Maybe I could show you around…show you some of the places that are less of a tourist trap." He said deeply, taking a step closer.

Before I could respond, Alek came up beside me and placed an arm around my hip. "Darling." He greeted me, I could hear the jealousy blazing.

"Alek…Jason was just offering a tour of the city." I said lively.

"I'm sure he was." He said flatly before continuing. "Chloe…" He started when we heard a clanging noise. Everyone in the room had gone silent. We looked up to see Jason's father holding up a glass of champagne. We turned and directed our attention towards him.

"Now that we've all been properly introduced, I'd like to make a toast." He smiled before continuing. "To Chloe, the Uniter. May she bring us great leadership as she works to reestablish our relationship with the humans. Here's to looking forward to the future, where we will no longer have to live in secret." Everyone raised their glasses up to me. I smiled graciously at everyone in the room.

"So...from what we've been told, you have found your eternal mate?" Jonathon asked. Everyone was silent, anticipating an answer.

I laughed gently as Alek placed his arm around my waist. I was extremely nervous and didn't know if I could pull this off. He gave me a gentle squeeze, comforting me.

"Yeah, I certainly have." I said enthusiastically, turning in towards him and placing a hand on his chest, putting on the widest grin I could manage. Whispers swarmed the room. Alek kissed the top of my head. It was a good thing he still had an effect on me, because I blushed when he did so, making it even more believable.

"And do you two have any plans yet?" A pride member from Boston asked. I was a little confused by this, thankfully Alek spoke for me.

"We certainly do. We plan on moving to our own apartment when we get back to San Francisco." I looked up astonishingly to meet Alek's smile. I smiled back, playing the part but getting a weird feeling in my stomach.

"And marriage?" Jason asked. I was surprised by his forwardness. I quickly looked back at Alek.

"Well, Chloe is very stubborn." Alek chuckled.

"I wouldn't say that…it's just I'm only eighteen." I laughed.

"Chloe didn't grow up in Mai heritage so she isn't quite accustomed to our ways yet." He explained, earning nods from a few fellow Mai.

"Yeah, I mean I know that Alek is the one I want to be with forever, we are mates. One day we will be married, but I want to be a little older. Who knows, maybe a few months from now I'll give in to him." I explained, looking Alek in the eyes, smiling while I talked. I think we were really selling it. Many of the Mai were staring at us with looks of approval.

"Hopefully sooner." Alek retorted, gaining laughter from the room. "One can only dream." He added.

"Well, that is certainly good to hear." Jonathon commented. "Saturday night marks the ball. Until then, I hope you two love birds can explore the city." He continued. "It was a pleasure meeting you tonight Ms. King. Nice seeing you in the city again Mr. Petrov."

He smiled sincerely at us. The meet and greet was coming to an end. We said our goodbyes to everyone. We were about to board the elevator when Jason approached us.

"I hope you had a good time tonight." He directed towards me. I smiled gently at him.

"Yes, thank you again." I replied. He nodded at Alek as Alek took my hand and pulled us into the elevator.

Once the doors were shut, he let go of my hand, placing his behind his back. He didn't say a word to me as the elevator descended. I fiddled with my own hands in front of me.

"So…" I began. The elevator dinged open and we made our way out to the street. It was a little after nine o'clock. The driver opened the doors to the town car as we approached.

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><p>Alek made a point to ignore the entire ride back to The Plaza. It wasn't until we had gotten back in our suite that he had fired off at me.<p>

"I can't believe how reckless you were tonight." He paced back and forth in the living room, taking off his jacket and bowtie.

"What?" I asked confused, taking off my heels. The bottoms of my feet had been burning from standing in them for so long.

"Flirting with that guy, are you trying to mess this all up?" He rambled on, loosening the collar on his dress shirt.

"I don't know what you're referring to, but last time I checked...talking to a guy was not considered flirting." I waved my hands and put air quotes around flirting. Alek stopped, turning towards me.

"Really? So you're telling me that you weren't giving him the look?" He asked.

"The look?" I tilted my head in amusement.

"That look, you bite your lip…look every which way you can before looking back up into their eyes." Jealousy fuming off of him.

I burst out laughing. "You're kidding right?"

"If I hadn't of cut in when I did you would have probably accepted his offer to explore the city." He emphasized the last three words in a mocking tone.

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Please."

He raised his eyebrows at me as if he were challenging me.

"So I was little friendly tonight. I won't let it happen again. Get over it." I said harshly and shrugged my shoulders.

I brushed past him and made my way upstairs. I was going to change when I groaned. I needed help with the zipper. I tried to get it by myself like I had in the store but I didn't want to chance damaging the dress. I stomped heavily down the stairs, change of clothes in my hands.

He was in the same spot I had left him in. "Unzip me please?" I asked, turning around.

I heard him let out a sigh as he walked towards me. He tugged lightly on the zipper, bringing it down.

"Okay." He said plainly.

"Thanks." I clenched, holding the dress to me as I walked towards the downstairs bathroom.

I changed out of the dress into a pair of red silk short and tank set pajamas. They were super comfortable and I decided that I would take the time to unpack and organize all my clothes.

"Need help?" Alek offered as he watched me.

"Nope." I said firmly.

"I don't mean to be a jerk, but in order to pull this off you need to be committed." He lectured.

"I'm pretty sure we did a pretty good job pulling it off to everybody when we talked about our plans for the future!" I whipped around, annoyed by his constant lecturing of what I did wrong.

"That part was perfect…and it's exactly what we need to keep doing." He went to push on further but I interrupted him.

"And what are we going to do when we get home Alek? Did Valentina ever think that through? Did that even cross _your_ mind? Mates are eternal and I doubt that after this month it is the last we will see of any of those people. There will be more gatherings after that. What? We have to do this for the rest of our lives?" This caused him to go silent.

He didn't say another word to me that night after that. When I had finished unpacking and arranging I climbed into bed, physically and emotionally exhausted from the day's events.

Alek came in from the terrace, throwing his shirt off and onto the floor. He pulled his sweats off, leaving him in only a black pair of boxers. My eyes flashed over him.

"Do you mind?" I asked, slipping from my trance.

"Not at all." He replied, climbing into bed next to me. I sighed, turning onto my side, back facing him. I was too tired to argue any longer.

"Before I go to sleep…what do we have to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"Nothing, we don't have to go anywhere until the Ball on Saturday."

"Mhmm, good. I don't think I could handle another night like this." I admitted. I heard him scoff beside me. "Oh, stop taking things the wrong way Alek." I replied sarcastically. "Can we actually do something…I don't know…fun tomorrow?" I asked wearily.

"If you're good, we'll see." He teased, laughing lightly.

Once again my mind wondered how his mood could change in a split second. I drifted to sleep replaying the ups and downs of the day in my head.

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><p><strong>Did you really think it would be that easy? I bet you didn't see that coming right? Alek going upstairs and confessing his love for Chloe? It's not going to happen overnight guys, but I gave you a taste right? Sorry to be awful and not make it be reality. Not yet at least. ;)<strong>

**So, I've introduced Jason. He will definitely stirring up a little trouble for Chloe and Alek. As you can tell, Chloe is attracted to him and Alek is definitely jealous. Did the description of what Jason looked like sound familiar? He is going to remind Chloe of Alek in many ways, which is really the only reason that she is taking an interest in him. I have put a link up as who I am using as Jason. Alex Pettyfer, haha! Yes…so you see what I mean about similarities? She's drawn to him because of his resemblance to Alek, so you'll just have to see how that plays out.**

**On my profile, I have a link that will lead you to all extras on this fic. If you just copy and paste it to your address bar, it will lead you to all the dresses from Chapter 4. I also have some other extras up such as Alek's playlist and Chloe's playlist. These are point of view playlists so if you want to check them out, feel free! I also will put a link to an Alex Pettyfer gallery in case some of you aren't familiar with him. **

**Once again, I always enjoy reading your reviews. I have been working really hard on this fic, and have managed a chapter a day so far. As long as the reviews keep coming in, I will keep that up. I hope you liked this chapter and please let me know what you think of everything that happened, including what you think of Jason. **

**Please review!**

**You know you want too! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all for the amazing reviews! I really appreciate them! Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Lots of minor things are happening between the two of them.**

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><p>I woke up once again with Alek's arm wrapped around me. We were facing each other and were pretty close. Before I could react, I heard my phone vibrating on the table. Not really know what it was at first I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. It stopped vibrating only to start again. I groaned and tried to roll over, but I couldn't.<p>

"Alek…" I groaned, trying to get free. He was still asleep. "Alek…" I said again as I managed to wriggle my arm out from under him. I rolled onto my back and his arm fell on my stomach. I reached over and grabbed my phone off the table trying to focus my eyes on who was calling. It was Amy. I groaned again, she always called at the earliest times.

"Hello?" I mumbled. I reached my hand up and rubbed my eyes awake.

"Chloe! Oh my god, so you have to tell me _everything!_ How is New York?" She screamed into the phone, which I pulled from ear.

"Ugh! Amy, you're making me go deaf! Do you know what time it is? What is it like five or six there?" I groaned.

"I know. I know, but I set my alarm so I could wake up early and talk to you before you went out to do anything. I figured you were busy settling in yesterday and I just couldn't wait any longer." She babbled.

"Alright, alright I'm awake." I laughed.

"So how is it there? Are you and Alek getting along?" I rested my hand on my forehead, looking over at Alek who was still asleep. He looked so innocent when he slept.

"Not exactly." I mumbled. I went to get up but Alek's grip was strong on me.

"Hold on." I pulled the phone from my face. "Alek…" Still no response. "What are you comatose? Alek!" I said a little louder.

"Hmmm?" He moaned irritated.

"Do you mind? I'd like to get up!" I asked annoyed and persistently.

"Huh?" He opened his eyes and then quickly jolted his arm from around me.

"Thank you." I said ungratefully. I pulled the covers off and sat up, pulling the phone back up to my ear. "Sorry, I'm back."

"What was that about?" Amy asked in one of her tell all details voices.

"Ugh…nothing. Just Alek being…Alek." I told her. I got up and walked out onto the terrace. The morning air was great, it hadn't gotten too hot yet.

"Mhmm hmmm…" She said in disbelief. "So how are things between you two? Are you getting along at all?" I drew out a breath as she asked this.

"Not really. I mean, there have been points where we've had normal conversations and not argued…but it always resorts into some kind of argument. He has these mood swings." I explained.

"Oh…well maybe things will get better." She suggested.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. We did have the talk." I told her.

"_The_ talk? As in the talk you wanted to have with him two years ago?" She asked excitedly.

I sighed and sat on the ledge of the terrace. I rested my back against the building and put one leg up on the ledge and the other on the ground. I leaned my head back against it, looking up at the sky.

"Yes." I said dully.

"It didn't go well?" She asked sadly, reading my reaction.

"Well…we got into an argument because he said that I looked like a prostitute in this dress I tried on, and then told me I looked desperate in the next." I heard Amy gasp. I continued. "And I bought the dresses anyways just to piss him off and he apologized to me. We got back to the suite and he apologized again and wanted me to tell him everything I had wanted to tell him. So I did." I stopped, thinking back to it.

"And?" Amy asked eagerly.

"I did. He went to say something and I stopped him and went upstairs to get ready." I mumbled.

"He didn't follow you?"

"No." I said flatly. "He fell asleep."

"Oh…I'm sorry Chloe." She said kindly, remorse in her words.

"It's fine. I knew that it was too late and too long for something to still be there. I mean look how we've treated each other since then." I ranted.

"Yeah…you never know. Maybe you two can at least come out of this as friends." She said encouragingly.

"Doubt it." I mumbled. "So how are things back home? You and Paul doing okay?" I asked, curious of how she was.

"We're doing great! We're thinking of taking a trip to Hawaii! Can you believe it?" She said excitedly.

"Really? That's amazing! You should totally go!" I was happy that she and Paul had stayed together throughout high school and were still together even after graduation. Amy continued to talk when we were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What did I tell you about sitting there?" He asked sternly. He had bed hair and was still in only his black boxers. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Ughhhh…Amy I'm gonna have to call you later…jackass woke up." I hung up and swung my head over at him raising my eyebrows.

"Really?" He asked. "Come on, get down…I'm serious." He started walking slowly towards me.

I looked at him in disbelief.

"You do realize that you are wearing silk…which is perhaps one of the most slippery fabrics of them all?" He declared as more of a statement than a question.

"Your point being?" I asked dismissively.

"Look, can you just get down?" He pleaded, holding out his hand.

I looked at his hand, then back up at him. I sighed, giving up as I took his hand and he helped me down. I stumbled into him, my hands falling on his chest. His body warm as I fell into him. I didn't chance looking up at him as I pushed past him, and started walking towards the door.

"Chloe…" He called out distressingly. I ignored him and went back inside.

I walked straight to the breakfast menus, figuring I could eat something while we decided on what we were going to do today.

I had ordered breakfast for the both of us. I tried to get the plainest version as possible of pancakes and eggs. I still wasn't used to the fancy foods. When I got off the phone with room service, Alek walked into the room.

"I'm going to take a shower." He announced as he got some clothes out of the drawers.

"Okay, well I ordered us some breakfast." I told him. He nodded and went into the bathroom, shutting it behind him. I shook my head at his careless attitude.

I fell back onto the bed, placing my hands on my forehead in anxiety. I thought back to my conversation with Amy. It made me think of what I told Alek and I wanted to bury myself in a pillow and scream. I finally told him and he fell asleep moments after! He doesn't care, that was his way of saying _whatever, I don't care!_ Why did he have to make this so difficult? I heard the butler at the door with our breakfast. I ran down, opening the door to greet him as he pushed the cart in.

"Thank you." I told him. I looked at the covered platters in anticipation. The butler cleared his throat and I looked at him confused. He was rubbing his thumb and forefinger in circles.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said embarrassed. I looked around, my purse was upstairs but I caught a glance of Alek's wallet on the table at the entrance. I'd pay him back, I mentally noted before opening the wallet. I went to pull out some cash and was shocked when I pulled out something with it.

It was the pictures from the photo booth the night before everything had happened. I thought that I had lost them sometime last year, but here they were in Alek's wallet. I looked at them baffled before I remembered the butler standing right there. I quickly handed him a rather large tip and he exited the room.

I went back to staring at the pictures, remember how fun it had been. I still had the stuffed lion...somewhere hidden. I was shocked it was in his wallet and was wondering why he had it. I was unaware of the boy coming down the stairs.

"What are you doing?" I heard him ask. I turned around slowly, with the photo strip still in my hands along with his wallet. I looked slowly up at him.

"Why do you have these?" I asked.

"I didn't realize we were searching each others things." He said harshly, coming over to me and snatching the photo strip and his wallet from my hands.

"I'm not! I wasn't!" I said defensively. "My purse is upstairs and your wallet was there." I explained. He nodded his head simply, taking a plate of food, a glass of orange juice, and ascending up the staircase.

I drew out a breath, taking my plate and orange juice, heading upstairs as well. I walked out to the table on the terrace and sat across from him.

"You never answered my question Alek." I said sternly.

"And you answer mine?" He shot back. I shut up, knowing he was referring to what I said yesterday, and ate my breakfast in silence.

Alek cleared our plates when we were done and I headed inside over to my purse. I opened my wallet, taking out the same amount of cash I gave the butler.

"Don't bother." Alek appeared and said.

"Seriously…I don't mind tipping, but I didn't want to go upstairs…he was impatient enough." I told him. Alek sighed and took the cash from me, knowing I would just find a way to sneak it back into his wallet later.

I realized that Alek was in his jeans and t-shirt and I was still in my red silk pajamas, my hair in a messy bun.

"I'm going to go shower. Any idea about what we're doing today?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter to me."

I sighed. Just once I'd like for him to treat a situation like it actually did matter.

"Okay…" I dragged. "How about we just walk the city, check it out?"

He pondered for a minute before agreeing. "Yeah." Was all he simply said.

"Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower and get ready." I told him, quickly going in the bathroom.

Once I had showered and got dressed I left the bathroom to see Alek lying on the bed in a daydream position.

I was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a black sheer tank top and flip flops.

"Ready?" I asked as he woke up from his daze. He got up slowly and nodded his head.

* * *

><p>Alek didn't really say much of anything as we toured the city. We had two days until the ball on Saturday, and I wasn't looking forward to any of it.<p>

I bought some souvenirs for Amy and Paul as we explored.

"You know, this day would be so much better if you weren't such a killjoy." I teased, trying to get him out of his brooding mood.

"Because I'm so gloomy." He teased sarcastically.

"See, sarcasm is better than nocasm." I pushed my hip into his side playfully.

"Want a cool down?" He motioned to a snow cone cart.

"Yes! I don't think I've ever had one of those." I agreed, excitedly.

"Good, I'll surprise you with a flavor." He smiled.

"I'll be right here." I assured him as he walked to the vendor. The day was finally looking up.

I stood near the corner of a building waiting on Alek when someone rounded the corner and slammed right into me. They caught me and helped me balance.

"Jason." I smiled, looking up and see his well-structured face.

"Chloe." He greeted back just as quickly. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He laughed lightheartedly.

"No worries." I told him. "So how are you?"

"I'm good, just running some errands. How are you? I don't see Alek around."

"Oh, he's right there getting us snow cones." I said, realizing how cheesy that sounded.

"Right…" He trailed off. "So anyways, do you want to accompany me for the day. I could show you parts of the city you've never seen before." He offered, his voice low and suggestive. I ignored the suggestive hint he was making and responded.

"Actually, this is really the first laid back day Alek and I have had since we got here…so I'm gonna have to say no." I so badly wanted to say yes, but remembered Alek's warning about our cover. I saw Jason's face fall. "Maybe another time?" I offered this time.

His face lit up again and he smiled. "Definitely." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "We can just exchange numbers, maybe talk sometime." He said kindly. I pulled my phone from my purse. We snapped photos of each other and exchanged numbers.

Alek walked back up to us with both snow cones, handing me a red one.

"Jason." He greeted him nonchalantly.

"Alek." He greeted in return. "I was just asking Chloe if she'd like to accompany me for the day. You wouldn't mind would you?" I looked at Alek quickly, a little shocked that Jason had asked him after I told him no.

"Actually, I have a surprise I've been planning for Chloe since we got here so yeah, I kind of do mind." Alek replied back nicely, but I got a vibe that there was some sort of uneasiness between the two that went back beyond ever meeting me.

"Certainly." Jason retorted, then looked at me. "Chloe, it was nice seeing you again." He nodded. "You have my number." He stated before he smirked and walked away. My eyes widened in shock that he had said that in front of Alek. I personally wouldn't have cared if Alek wasn't present. Now, I was just worried about the soon to be lecture and harsh words.

"I got you cherry." Alek said, motioning to my snow cone. I looked at him weirdly.

"You didn't do anything wrong." He said exasperated. "I listened in and you did well by declining his invitation. That's just Jason, him bringing it up to me. We don't really get along. He likes to try and piss me off, mainly he just likes to compete with me...and I think you know what I mean by that." He explained. I knew that that wasn't the full story, but decided not to question it any further for now.

"So I see." I said. I tried some of the strawberry snow cone. It was delicious. "Mhmm, this is good." I looked over at his blue one. "What flavor is that?"

"Blueberry." He held it up to my face and it touched my nose. He chuckled. "Try it."

I looked over at him and took a bite out of it. I covered my mouth and laughed. "It's just as delicious." I told him.

"I wouldn't know…someone is hogging all the cherry." He teased. I laughed and handed him my snow cone. He gladly took it and took a huge chunk of it.

"Hey!" I laughed. He held back a smile and gave me the "what did I do?" face. I shook my head and chuckled. "Give me back my snow cone." I grabbed it back from him and took another bite.

"You're right it's just as delicious." He declared. I raised an eyebrow mischievously at him and he grinned back.

We continued to walk up the streets of New York. Everything was fast-paced and gorgeous in its entirety. We finished our snow-cones and threw the triangle cups in the trash.

"So…you have a surprise?" I asked. Alek looked at me confused and then remembered what he told Jason.

"Oh that..pshhh yeah completely!" He said throwing his arm behind his head.

"Uh huh…you didn't have a surprise did you?" I shook my head, crinkling my nose and smiling.

"No?" He asked wearily. I laughed. "But I have an idea." I looked up at him, me being the one surprised.

"And what is your idea?" I asked him curiously.

"We explore Times Square. We haven't been there yet." He suggested.

"Love that idea." I told him, a smile creeping on my lips. "Let's go."

"Nope." He smirked. I shot him a glare. "Tonight. It's ten times better at night." He assured me.

"Okay." I said skeptically.

We decided we would go back to the hotel for a few hours and I couldn't help but ask myself if this was a date.

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><p><strong>End of the chapter for today! What did you think? Do you think it's a date? What do you think will happen? Will they at least end the night as friends? Or will their headstrong issues with each other get in the way again? Just remember, it's not going to be easy…so don't get your hopes up on them getting together so quickly. It is after all only their third day in the city. Let me know what you think! <strong>

**As always, please review! I love reading them just as much as I love writing a new chapter. It's inspiration! Thank you all! I wouldn't be able to continue without your support! **

**And again…review! You know you want too! ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again for all the amazing reviews! I appreciate every single one of them. I haven't had the chance to replay back to some of them yet, so bear with me. I have a busy weekend coming up but I am going to try to keep updating every day. The more reviews I get will definitely help! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's almost 7 am and I really need to be getting to bed. Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

Chloe and I went back to the hotel around five. When I saw Jason and Chloe laughing earlier, it bugged me immensely. I could tell that Chloe's laugh was genuine and that she may actually like him. He was definitely flirting with her. As I waited impatiently for our snow cones, I listened to their conversation. He asked her to "explore" the city with him the rest of the day. I had hoped Chloe was smart enough to catch his suggestive innuedo. I was more than pleased when she declined and smirked to myself. It served him right. I held it together pretty well and caught the uneasiness Chloe was feeling when Jason asked me if it was alright for Chloe to go.

It didn't matter and I assured Chloe that she had nothing to feel bad about, Jason was an asshole. He always had been. He took full advantage of his father's status and credibility in the city. He was considered one of New York's playboys, although he didn't get much play due to lack of Mai. But whenever there was a female Mai around, he would have his way with them, and the women didn't mind at all. He was very persuasive, and his self-assurance led others not to doubt him.

When I had been in New York City years ago, Jason and I didn't see eye to eye, and it seemed we still hadn't. Jason was very careless; he would drink himself to a state that would mess up his alertness. He didn't seem to care about the well-being of humans in my opinion if he could do that. As far as I know, he has never killed a human. One night I had to drag him out of a club because he was so inebriated. When I confronted him back at the penthouse, we exchanged words and it almost became physical before his father intervened.

He had even gone as far to talk indecently of Jasmine, who had no intimacy with him. She met him once, briefly, before flying to Paris with Valentina.

I just didn't like the guy. Now, I realized that I actually hated him. What kind of guy flirts with another's mate? It didn't matter if Chloe and I had not been mates, but as far as he knew we were. Was he that stupid? If he didn't back off soon, I would be doing something about it whether Chloe liked it or not.

I told Jason I had a surprise for Chloe that night with great satisfaction as I watched his face fall for the second time, the first being when Chloe declined. It hit me when Chloe asked what the surprise was. I tried to make it seem like I had something planned, but knew that she saw right through me.

Then I thought to myself that this would be the perfect opportunity to start showing Chloe how I felt. Was it a date? In my mind, it was…but I knew that in reality it was simply two people with a complicated history going out, as friends...if you could even call us that. I was going to try this time to let my walls down. I wouldn't allow those walls to go up and give her the cold shoulder for the night. I was going to try. A little progress was better than no progress at all. We would be here a month. One month to try and work things out before we went back to our normal lives in California.

I went out on the terrace, making a few phone calls. I had to pull some strings because it was last minute, but I was able to plan everything I had wanted to. I had just hung up the phone with someone when Chloe walked out onto the terrace. She was wearing white capris and a navy and white top. She had a tan belt around her waist and was wearing gladiator sandals on her feet. (outfit in profile - external link)

Once again, she looked stunning. Her hair was half up and half down, a clip securing the hair in the back. She was also wearing a pair of gold and crystal drop earrings. To say she looked amazing was the biggest understatement in the world.

"So what are we doing first?" She asked curiously.

I looked down at my phone, it was now around seven. In other words, it was time to go.

"You'll see." I said, smiling.

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><p>The streets were certainly busy tonight, but it was New York of course.<p>

"So, you want dinner right?"

"Yeah, where?" She nodded as we strolled the streets.

"It's a place called Churrascaria Plataforma." I announced.

"I'm sorry…Churrascarayawhat?" She asked and I chuckled.

"Don't worry, you'll love it. Plus, I wasn't sure what you wanted and this place has quite the variety. You'll see what I mean." I told her.

We arrived at the restaurant, it was packed and I was thankful that I was able to even get a reservation. We were escorted to a table towards the back. Chloe sat down looking around.

"So where are the menus?" She asked, confused.

"No menus." I told her, her head cocked to the side in question.

"You see, you pay a base price and they give you a salad to start off. From there they" – I pointed to some waiters carrying varieties of meat and chicken – "will bring us meat, chicken, lamb…whatever you want. This little chip thing" – I picked up the double-sided circular chip – "will be your indicator. When you want more meat you flip it to green. Red when you don't."

"That's neat." She looked down at her chip, amused. "It's different. I like it." She declared.

"Yeah, it tastes like perfection." I stated.

"How much?"

"Enough." I told her, knowing I would full well be paying over a hundred dollars for the both of us.

"You didn't need to spend money at a fancy place Alek." She said sweetly.

"It's fine, doesn't bother me." I dismissed with a smile.

We ate as much as we could, Chloe and I having fun switching the chip to green whenever our plates emptied out. Finally, we were full and decided that if we ate much more we would explode.

"Where to next?" She asked excitedly. I looked around, trying to figure out which way to go. It was around nine and it was finally getting dark.

"Ummmm…this way." I pulled her in the direction to the next place I had in mind.

We arrived at Madame Tussauds. It was a wax museum in Times Square. It closed in about an hour, so I hoped it would give us enough time to tour the place.

Chloe had a great time and was amazed at how realistic all the celebrities and influential people looked. I made a mental note that I would have to bring her back again. We had only looked at half of the museum before they announced closing.

"Awww man. I didn't get to see Leonardo Di Caprio!" She whined.

"We can come back, we'll be here a month after all." I laughed.

She nodded her head agreeing.

"Last stop." I announced as we made our way to the Rockefeller Center.

Chloe's mouth hung open as she admired Times Square. I was grateful of how great a night we were having as we explored the channel gardens. We sat down on one of the benches overlooking a massive arrangement of exotic flowers.

"Tonight was fun." She stated calmly. I looked over to see a genuine smile on her face.

"Yeah, well I thought it would better than bickering back and forth." I raised an eyebrow and scoffed, gaining a laugh from her.

"Yeah, can we just not do that anymore?" She asked, all joking aside.

"Gee…I don't know" – I scratched the top of my head – "I would have to rearrange my plans to piss you off for the next few years." I smirked. She rolled her eyes and looked down at her feet, a small smile on her face.

"You know, I think I may actually consider moving here, it's so beautiful." She teased, looking over at me with a smirk.

"That's not funny." I said seriously. She chuckled. "I'm kidding, but I wouldn't mind it." She admitted, gazing up at the buildings.

I remembered the last thing I had planned for the night. I took out my phone and looked at the time. It was now 10:45. I jumped up, realizing we were going to miss it if we didn't hurry.

"Come on. We have to go." She got up quickly and I grabbed her hand, hurrying towards the building.

"Go where?" She asked, rushing to keep up with me as I pulled her with me.

"I told you."

"Huh?"

"The city is ten time's better at night." I hollered as we ran past the loud crowds.

We ran into the building and got into the elevator. I was trying to catch my breath and Chloe was laughing at me, trying to do the same.

"Where are we going and why did we have to run?" She asked, exasperated.

"Last elevator goes up at eleven." I told her, not giving anything away. She gave me a puzzled look. "You might want to close your eyes." I warned her.

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's better, trust me. Close your eyes and I'll lead you." She shot me another perplexed look and I looked back at her pleading. She did in fact close her eyes, just as the elevator door opened.

"Take my hand." I grabbed her hand and led her off of the elevator. "We have to go up two flights of stairs, so you can't look."

"Okay…" She said uneasily. I guided her up the stairs until we made it to the third deck. I walked her over to the perfect spot and let go of her hand.

"Open your eyes." I whispered, amazed at the view as well. It had been a long time since I had visited the Top of the Rock.

"Oh my god." Her eyes widened and she was so overwhelmed that she began to stagger. I placed my hand on her hip, helping her steady. She looked straight ahead, her mouth agape.

I let go of her as she turned slowly in a 360 degree, admiring the city from all angles. I watched her eyes glitter, the lights of the city reflecting into hers.

"This is…" She shook her head in amazement. "heaven." She finished, glancing over at me quickly and then focusing back on the skyline.

"See Central Park?" I pointed over her shoulder. We were actually really close and the passing person would assume we were a couple. How much I wished.

"It's just…" She paused again and laughed. "I'm seriously at a loss of words this is so amazing."

I smiled at her as I listened to her as she kept talking about the beauty of the city. I stayed in my place as she explored the top of the deck. I tuned everything out as I started to listen to her heartbeat. It was racing with excitement in her chest. I opened my eyes, smiling to myself at my achievement to do something that made her happy for once.

Chloe insisted that we take a picture at the Kodak photo center. We posed side by side; I put my arm around her shoulder as we smiled. The camera flashed and it was done. We could pick it up when we left. Had Chloe and I been together, our pose would have consisted of us kissing with the city skyline in the background, but that had only had been fantasy, and once again this was the unfortunate reality. I was at least grateful that we had seemed to be rekindling our friendship.

We left a half hour later; my eyes had been more on Chloe than the view. We picked up our picture when we got off of the elevator. We laughed at how good it had turned out before an awkward silence filled the atmosphere around us.

We walked back to the hotel mainly in silence.

"I hope you had a good time tonight?" I asked, I didn't like how weird it had suddenly become.

"Yeah…I did." She looked over smiling at me. "Thanks. I needed a night like this."

I smiled gently at her, nodding my head. "You're welcome."

"So, when was the last time you were in New York?" She asked.

"Three years ago to be exact." I stated, matter of factly.

"What were you doing here?"

"Well, the first time, Valentina brought me here after she found me in London. I was fourteen and had just transitioned. She was going to Paris for a meeting and asked Jonathon to look after me." - I looked down, remembering how horrible a year it had been. – "Three years ago, we had to come back here for a week for some other meetings. I basically explored the city while all the adults did their thing." I chuckled.

"And you became friends with Jason?" She pushed on.

"Not exactly." I told her, trying to drop the subject and reminding myself not to get angry.

"Oh, sorry. I just kinda thought I caught onto something earlier today." She explained.

"Like what?" I wondered.

"Just that you and him didn't like each other very much, had a history."

I nodded my head. "Yeah, well…like I said before…he can be a real dick."

"Ah, something you have in common." She joked.

"Not hardly!" I scoffed, smirking over towards her. She laughed.

We walked a couple of blocks in silence.

"Tomorrow's Friday. I'm going to be honest, but I am extremely nervous for this ball on Saturday." She admitted.

"Nothing to worry about. You won them over at the meet and greet." I assured her.

"Yeah, but this is huge. I have no idea how I'm going to act and what's expected…" – she paused – "You know…of us." She lingered on that last word.

"Oh…that." I thought of momentarily. "We dance, make small talk with the prides and go on like a couple would."

"Yeah…I know…it's very weird." She said. I looked over at her thoughtful face.

"You're telling me." I replied. "But we seem to be selling it." I added.

"Agreed."

We had made it back to the Plaza. As we stepped into the elevator, there was a tension that was quickly surrounding us. I glanced over at her through my peripheral vision and saw her fiddling with her hands again, something I've come to know as one of her nervous habits. The door dinged open when we got to our floor. I unlocked the room and stepped in, placing my wallet and cell on the entrance table. A habit I had so I wouldn't leave the room without them. Chloe placed her purse on the table beside my stuff.

She walked towards the stairs, unclipping her hair and shaking it free. It was an incredibly sexy move that I was pretty sure she was unaware of. She ascended the stair well and stopped halfway, looking down at me.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said quickly, following her up.

She walked out onto the terrace and sat down on one of the lawn chairs. She moved it so she was in a laying position. I took the chair beside her and did the same thing, placing my hands in a clasped position behind my head.

"Wow." She said breathlessly.

"Hmmm?" I wondered.

"The stars. This city…it's just so much." She exclaimed.

"I really did have a good time tonight by the way." She turned her head to look at me. I looked over at her, smiling gently.

"I'm glad." I responded.

We lay out on the terrace for a while, not speaking. For once, the air wasn't full of tension. It was at a calm and I had hoped it meant something.

"I wonder what time it is."

"It has to be after one at the least." I replied.

"Alek…do you think were safe here?" She asked timidly.

"Why would you ask that?" I sat up slowly.

"I don't know. It seems like back in San Francisco we were fighting assassins on a daily basis. Here, we haven't come across any danger."

"I'm not sure." I said, thoughtfully. "But you are safe here. I can promise you that. I've never let anything happen to you before and I definitely won't let it now…or ever."

She nodded her head and smiled gently, as if looking for the right words to say.

"I'm…extremely grateful for that…especially that you still have to protect me after all that's happened between us."

I looked over at her worriedly. "Chloe, just because I'm your sole protector doesn't mean I have to protect you. I mean it does…" – she chuckled – "but I choose to." I admitted.

"Well, thank you." She said sincerely.

"I'm going to go bed…I'm actually really tired." She said, getting up. I got up with her.

"Me too, still jetlagged." I announced, following her inside.

She went into the bathroom to change as I took off my shirt and pulled off my jeans. I made my way over to the bed in my boxers and jumped in.

While she was still in the bathroom, I thought about how the past two mornings I had woken up with my arms around her. It was completely embarrassing, but I shrugged it off as if it were just a natural instinct. She didn't seem to be too upset over it, but made no move to stay in my grasp, which disappointed me.

She came out of the bathroom with a plain white shirt and blue flannel pants. She had left her hair down. She walked over and climbed in bed beside me.

"Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?" She asked, softly.

"Uh uh…you can choose what we do though." I offered.

She snuggled into the blankets more and shut off the lamp on her side.

I heard her let out a yawn before replying."I'll have to think of something."

I closed my eyes and smiled. "Goodnight Chloe."

"Night Alek." She responded lightly.

All the resent I had felt towards Chloe had faded for the night. Who knows how long that would last, but however long, it was progress nonetheless. I knew I couldn't win Chloe's heart back overnight, but tonight was an example of the perfect way to start.

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><p><strong>I hoped you liked this chapter. I wanted for Chloe and Alek to not argue for once, but also not really make this a date. I'm trying to rekindle a friendship first. You don't know what happens tomorrow. As someone reviewed, they could have taken one step forward tonight, but they always seem to take two steps back. I'm not saying that's what going to happen, but don't expect Alek and Chloe to be like this from this point on. It's still a bumpy road! <strong>

**Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it good, and I'm not sure if succeeded. You can find a link to the page for this fanfic that has Chloe's outfit on it, along with some other things. :)  
><strong>

** Also, I am going to be busy this weekend, so I'm going to try to update every day. You're reviews will help guarantee that. The more I get, the more inspired I become for the next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, what do you think Chloe is going to want to do tomorrow? **

**Review! You know you want to!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, here is the next chapter! I think you'll like it. You may hate the beginning, but if you keep reading I'm sure a lot of you will be happy. Thank you for all the kind reviews and pm's for the last chapter!  
><strong>

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

It seemed to become an official way to wake up, Alek's arms around my waist like this. I had pretended that it bothered me since it started, but it really didn't. It was actually really soothing. I heard a knock on the door downstairs and wondered who it could be. This morning, his arm was only loosely wrapped around me so I was able to slip away from him. Walking down the stairs, I smoothed my hair. I looked in one of the mirrors I walked by to see that it actually didn't look that bad. I walked past the living room as someone knocked again. I kept the upper lock chained as I opened the door.

"Jason?"

"Hey, Chloe." He said smiling. I smiled back, a little puzzled. "I thought I'd stop by since I was in the area."

"This early?"

"Well…it's half past ten so I didn't think it was that early." He laughed.

"Oh, really? I just woke up, Alek and I had a late night." My face automatically reddened as I realized how it sounded. "So, how'd you know where we were staying?" I asked quickly, changing the subject.

"My father was the one that made the reservations for you." He explained. I nodded my head in understanding, no longer confused. I quickly reacted and shut the door, only to unlock it, and open it again.

"Sorry about that…come in." I opened the door so he could slip by me. He stopped just in front of me to smile, before proceeding. I blushed as I shut the door. He reminded me so much of how Alek had been before everything.

I led him into the living you and he plopped down on the couch, spreading his arms out on the back. He looked around.

"So, are you enjoying your living conditions?" He smirked.

I looked at all the extravagant décor, then back to him. "Definitely not complaining."

I went over and sat next to him, making sure to keep it a friendly distance. "You and Alek have a good time last night?" He clicked his tongue towards his cheek.

"Yeah, really nice actually." I confessed. I couldn't have had a better time. It was the best time I'd had in years.

"Think I could steal you away from your mate for a little while?"

"Oh, I don't know…I kind of was going to go out with Alek again today." I still hadn't figured out where we would go.

"Come on." He said playfully. "At least let me take you to breakfast. You have to eat, and besides Alek is sleeping. You'll be back before he knows you're gone."

"Alek always knows." I let out a light chuckle. I looked down thoughtfully and then back to him. "But I guess I could go out for a little while."

"That's more like it." He said sitting forward as I got up.

"I'm just going to go change really quick." I told him, leaving him in the living room as I made my way upstairs. I noticed Alek was still sleeping, so I tiptoed around. The last thing I wanted was to wake him and have him tell me I couldn't go. I threw on a plain black v-neck and jumped into a pair of jeans. I threw on my flip flops and threw my hair up into a bun. I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth and put on a little benetint.

I was about to head downstairs when I thought of writing Alek a note. I left it on the dresser mirror and proceeded down the stairs. Jason got up, smiling. I smiled back as we went out into the hall. I made sure to shut the door quietly behind me hoping it wouldn't make Alek wake up.

We were halfway done the elevator when I wanted to go back. Last night had been incredible; going out to breakfast with Jason would surely upset him. Now it was too late to change my mind and I would have to deal with the consequences.

Jason and I made small talk as I followed him to a coffee shop that was about a block away from The Plaza. We walked in, the fresh aroma of coffee filling my nostrils.

"I try to come here at least once a week. It's the best coffee in the city. They also have really good croissants." He ranted.

"I'll try one of both." I decided. I sat down at one of the round tables. Jason came back shortly with a bag and two coffees. He sat down at the table, handing me my coffee and opening the bag. He took out two croissants, handing me one as well. The inside of the bag had a variety of jams and spreads to choose from. As we ate and enjoyed our coffee, Jason spoke.

"I thought that I would take this time to my advantage. I doubt Alek is going to be very happy when you get back, he seems to be very protective." He said. "As he should be." He added.

"Yeah he is. It can be mind-boggling sometimes, but you get used to it." I explained.

"Well I can't say I blame him. If I had a girl like you I'd never let you out of my sight either." I smiled to myself at his compliment. It sounded like something Alek would have said years ago. This thought just made me wish that Alek was where Jason was sitting at that moment.

"How old are you?" I asked, curiously.

"Just turned twenty."

"And you haven't found anyone?" I was referring to a mate.

"No…not yet. But you never know…sometimes you could be looking into the eyes of that person and never know it." He said, looking me straight in the eyes. I held back a blush, only for the sake of Alek…who I could still not get my mind off of.

"I think it's actually time to get back to Alek. I know you had questions...but maybe some other time?" I said as I started to get up.

"Certainly…I'll walk you back." We got up, throwing away our empty cups along the way.

"How long have you and Alek been together?" He asked nonchalantly as we made our way back to the hotel.

"It's really complicated." I admitted.

"I'm sure it makes for an interesting story."

"It's a long story." I corrected him, not really wanting to get in the subject. I heard him sigh.

"To be honest, it doesn't seem like you two are mates. I'm telling you as my own personal opinion. I mean, have you had relationships with other Mai?"

I shook my head. We were just now entering the elevator at The Plaza. "No…" I stated, not really knowing what to add on.

"Well then there is no way of knowing for sure, am I right?" I didn't respond to this. I was at a loss for words. When we got up to my floor, he escorted me off the elevator and to Alek and I's suite. I took out my key card and opened the door. I was standing in the doorway when Jason placed his arm over me, blocking the way in.

"You are very beautiful by the way." He continued, staring at me intently and leaning forward. I didn't move. "Are you sure you don't want to take the day to explore with me?" He spoke very suggestively.

"Ummm…" Before I could speak he continued.

"We could test a few things out. I could help you decide whether Alek is really your mate or not." He leaned in, going in for a kiss, his lips in a crooked smile.

At the mention of Alek, I jumped back, turning my head to the side. Suddenly, I was actually angered by his forwardness.

"Look, Alek is my mate as I am his." I said sternly. Jason pulled back looking offended. "I don't know what possessed you to try and persuade me otherwise, but it's not going to work."

"Chloe…" He started. "I'm sorr…" He went to apologize and I cut him off.

"Don't bother. I don't know what the real story is with you and Alek but you will not use me to try and get to him."

"I'm not tryi…" I cut him off again.

"Regardless, I don't care what you're doing. I'm not interested in you like that." I said sternly.

"That's not what I was picking up." He smirked, his hand still above my head.

"Well then you're not as absolute as you think." I had decided that Jason was nothing like Alek at all. What I had thought had been a similarity to him was just the opposite. Jason was cocky like Alek, but he took it too far. Alek would never try to plant ideas into some one's head just to get what he wanted.

Jason moved his hand, looking shocked that I had told him off. I glared at him. "Thank you for breakfast, but I think it would be best if we weren't friends." I said as he looked inside the suite at something and smirked. I looked as well, but saw nothing before averting my attention back to him.

"You keep telling yourself that, but deep down there's a part of you that wants all this." He stepped away, pointing at his face and the rest of his body. I scoffed in disgust as he backed into the elevator.

When the elevator closed and he disappeared I went into the suite, shutting the door behind me and muttering "Dick." I placed my purse on the table and started towards the living room.

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

I wasn't particularly pleased when I woke up this morning to find Chloe not in my arms or by my side. I was still half asleep, so it still hadn't fully kicked in that she was not in bed like she should have been. When I did realize this, I got up slowly. At first I had thought she was in the bathroom, so I didn't really think much of it. I could tell that something wasn't right so I looked around the room. I saw a piece of paper stuck on the mirror. I got up and walked over to it, taking it.

_Going to breakfast with Jason. Be back soon! Don't worry. (10:37am) –Chloe_

10:37 am? We had slept that long? What time was it now? I looked over at the clock on the night stand. It read 11:12. I was instantly flushed with anger. I couldn't believe that she had left the suite. It wasn't her lives I was worried about as much as her well-being emotionally. I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a shirt.

I thought about calling her, but decided against it. I was mainly upset because I was making progress with her last night, but the first thing she does today is go out with Jason. Of all people, it had to be Jason. I started downstairs, contemplating taking a walk for the sake of cooling down or possibly running into them. I heard the dinging noise of the elevator. I sprinted to the far side of the living room, over to the wall. I crept along the wall until I got to the edge. If I had turned, Chloe would have seen me standing in the hallway. Instead, I decided to stay and listen in on the conversation they were having.

"_Well then there is no way of knowing for sure, am I right?"_ I recognized the voice as Jason's.

"_You are very beautiful by the way. Are you sure you don't want to take the day to explore with me?" _I heard some shuffling in the doorway.

"_Ummm…"_ I heard Chloe hum.

"_We could test a few things out. I could help you decide whether Alek is really your mate or not."_ I didn't really know what was going on in the doorway, but if I knew anything about this sort of thing, he was going to try to kiss her. Before I could intervene, I heard Chloe retort angrily.

"_Look, Alek is my mate as I am his. I don't know what possessed you to try and persuade me otherwise, but it's not going to work."_ I smirked, thinking to myself 'That's my Chloe.' I resisted laughing so that I wouldn't be caught eavesdropping.

"_Chloe…I'm sorr…"_ He started to apologize and she cut him off.

"_Don't bother. I don't know what the real story is with you and Alek but you will not use me to try and get to him."_

"_I'm not tryi…" _

"_Regardless, I don't care what you're doing. I'm not interested in you like that."_ I couldn't wipe the smirk off of my face as she said this. Served him right.

"_That's not what I was picking up."_ Did he ever know when to stop?

"_Well then you're not as absolute as you think."_ I chuckled lightly and then caught myself, hoping she hadn't hear me.

"_Thank you for breakfast, but I think it would be best if we weren't friends." _

"_You keep telling yourself that, but deep down there's a part of you that wants all this."_ That was the last thing I heard him say as I listened to him go into the elevator. I resisted another laugh as I heard Chloe scoff. Chloe didn't come inside yet until the elevator doors closed. When the door shut, she mumbled something about him being a dick.

I tried to compose myself. I got rid of the smirk and pretended like I was going to scold her for leaving, but was actually very proud of her for what she just did.

When I heard her get close, I turned into the foyer. She jumped and clutched her chest.

"Alek!" I restrained a smirk.

"You went out with Jason?" I asked.

"Just for breakfast…"

"And you thought that was a good idea why?" I asked her rhetorically. She looked down at the floor. I had my hands behind my back and I watched her, my expression unreadable.

"I'm sorry. It was stupid." She admitted, looking up. "And believe me; it will not be happening again." She threw her hands up as I raised my chin at her explanation. "I know you are pissed and I can see…" I chose to cut her off here.

"I was pissed." I told her, and she looked at me with a puzzled expression. "And then I heard that and I must say I am very proud." I raised my eyebrows as she let out a laugh.

"It's not every day that a girl turns down New York's 'most eligible bachelor'" I said with air quotes. We laughed together.

"There's a reason he's still a bachelor." She said in humorous disgust. I laughed with her.

"So, now that that little obstacle is out of the way…" She raised her eyebrows at me. "What?" I laughed. "I know you were interested in him." I said defensively.

"No…he just reminded me of someone…but I was so wrong!" She stated, this time I gave her a confused face.

"Never mind." She dismissed. "So what do you want to do…I've been trying to figure out what we could do, but I honestly have no idea. There are so many options that I can't just choose one." She rambled.

"Who says you have to choose one?" I said playfully.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so sorry for such a short chapter, but I am exhausted and it doesn't help that I have to get up in a few hours. Jason will not be an issue. He will return in future chapters, but he won't be a major issue…so don't worry. I may have him try to wreak a little havoc with Alek, but it won't be for a long time…like towards the end of their trip. <strong>

**I wanted to write Jason out for now so that I could focus on Chloe and Alek rebuilding their relationship, even if it is as just friends. **

**They haven't really interacted today, but they will. I have it planned where they are going to go and most of what is going to happen, but I am too tired to write tonight for some reason. **

**If you want that super long chapter to be a guarantee for tomorrow, please be sure to review. I'm going to need lots of them in order to get me to write. Like I said in the last chapter, my weekend is going to be busy and I have to get up early to go out of town and come back the same day. I'm going to be tired, so the more reviews the better. Updating every day is going to be hard, but as long as I get the motivation from reviews I'll be able to write it faster. It seems when I get all that inspiration, I can write a chapter in just a couple hours, sometimes quicker. **

**So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just be aware that things are not peachy keen between them just yet and it is only morning. **

**Once again, review! You know you want to!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Amazed at all the reviews on the last chapter! Keep them coming! :)**

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

"_Who said you have to choose one?"_ Alek said, playfully.

"We could explore the park today. There are a lot of things to do there." I suggested. I didn't really know what Alek would like to do. I wanted to do something that would make him happy, because what he chose last night made me extremely happy. Exploring the park seemed like a fun thing to do, and Alek was pretty laid back.

"Doesn't matter to me, sounds fun." He agreed and I let out a sigh of relief. I knew that today would be nothing compared to what we did last night, but since we were here for a month I really could surprise him with something.

"Okay, well I'm going to shower. I had literally just woken up when Jason showed up." I explained.

"Me too. See you in an hour and a half." He said sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, holding back a chuckle.

"You take forever!" He dragged out. I laughed and shook my head.

"I do not!" I argued. He laughed as I pursed my lips.

I tried to think of something to say as he crossed his arms and looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised, challenging me. I huffed and turned to go upstairs, he followed right behind me, laughing.

I showered and kept my hair down. I put on the usual makeup and went to get dressed. I wore a pair of jean shorts and paired it with a red tank top. It was close to being a hundred degrees, and that was without the humidity. I wore my gladiator sandals again.

I walked out and saw Alek sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms holding him up as he leaned back into it. He was already showered and changed into jeans and a black Henley shirt. I could see him making no effort to hide the smirk that was on his face.

"Don't say it." I warned. His eyes glowed as his smirk became wider and he threw his hands up.

I grabbed my purse off of the dresser, making sure my phone was charged and that I had my wallet. Alek got up and followed me and I wondered if we could continue our argument free day. This was almost two days in a row; I hoped we could keep it up.

When we got in the elevator I made sure to press the ground floor button. Alek, obviously in a good mood to tease me had pushed ten different buttons as the doors were closing.

"You do realize that it's going to take forever to get to the lobby now right?"

He didn't answer. He simply folded his hands behind his back with a smirk. We had stopped on three different floors already and I was getting aggravated. I decided that two could play this game.

The next time the elevator opened its door, I simply walked out and turned around to stare at him.

"Where are you going?" He asked mischievously.

"Just right here. I'll get back on." I lied. He raised his eyebrows in question. The elevator doors began to shut and I laughed, running towards the stairwell. I heard him yell my name and I was surprised that he didn't manage to stop the elevator doors from closing. I ran down the stairs, knowing I would beat Alek to the lobby. Then he would be the one that took so long.

I went down a few more floors and decided that I would just go ahead and be there when the doors opened on the next floor. I didn't need him getting too pissed off at me, it was a little too early to be playing games. I looked up and saw that the elevator was still a floor above me. I tried to contain my smile as it came down and the doors opened.

Alek's arms were crossed and he looked pissed. When he saw me, he didn't say anything to me, but his features softened. I gave him a small smile and walked back into the elevator as the door's closed and we continued down.

"Don't do that again." He said sternly. I laughed, thinking he was joking, but he still stood serious.

"What are you serious?" I asked him, my smile fading. He turned his head away and ignored me.

"Wow…okay! So much for keeping the peace." I said annoyed. I crossed my arms and leaned against the elevator wall.

Alek burst out laughing and I glared at him. "You really can't take a joke." He laughed, uncrossing his arms and letting them hang at his side.

"That was mean." I pouted, but I wasn't mad.

When we finally arrived in the lobby I practically ran outside for the fresh air. It was a beautiful day, despite the mugginess.

"Slow down!" I heard him from behind. I laughed, usually he was one to be ahead of me.

"I needed the fresh air! Plus, now we can get to the park sooner."

We walked through the beginning of the park. We decided we would visit the pond on the way back since it was basically across the street from the hotel. We passed under the inscope arch. Alek made a comment about how perfectly it was structured.

"I didn't know you were one for architecture." I stated.

"I'm not, but I know a beautiful thing when I see it." He said, and then glanced over at me. I nodded my head, not sure if there was another meaning behind his words.

"So why Central Park?" He asked. I looked over at him in confusion. "You could go anywhere in the city, but you decided to come here and you even came here the first day we were here."

I blushed, remembering how I snuck out of the hotel and immediately went to the park for a few hours.

"I don't know. I mean, just look around. It's peaceful and absolutely breathtaking. There are so many things going on in the world today and then you come to a place like this and you see people that look like they don't have a care in the world. It's like this magical place that's undisturbed by the outside world." I explained passionately. "I feel like anything can happen here. I don't think I have seen one person here that has been discouraged or looked as if they were about to breakdown."

I smiled and looked over towards him to see that he was looking right back at me, concentrating on what I had to say.

"Look!" – I pointed towards a father and son that were playing catch – "How often do you see things like that nowadays?"

"And there!" – I exclaimed, this time pointing towards a little girl chasing a butterfly – "When is the last time you saw anything like that? I know I haven't in at least ten years."

Alek didn't say anything; he just smiled at me genuinely. I continued to enjoy our surroundings. I eyed an older couple, holding hands as they walked along the path. I saw a younger couple behind them, holding hands as well.

"I bet that they" – referring to the older couple – "had their first date here or even met here and have been together ever since." I smiled at the older couple as they passed us. "And I bet that they" – now referring to the younger couple – "are going to follow in the same tracks as them."

"You seem very sure of that." Alek said, his hands in his pocket as he walked beside me.

"I'd like to think that were the case." I admitted, profoundly. We were just walking by the statues of Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns and William Shakespeare.

I admired what I saw in so many movies before. It was what was referred to as the literary walk or as some people called it 'the mall'. There were food vendors and other things around us. I couldn't help but gape at the beautiful elm trees that surrounded us. There were an endless amount of benches along the wide pathway. I saw some people being having their picture drawn by sketch artists and others sitting on the benches reading.

We walked in a calm and steady silence. We made a left at the Bethesda fountain and continued. I didn't really know where we were going, but I knew the names of everything only from the continuous list of movies I had watched that involved Central Park. We continued to walk until reached a slope that overlooked the lake. We were headed towards the Bow Bridge. I couldn't wait to get there, it was one of my favorite things that I memorized from the movies.

"You really like it here don't you?" Alek asked me. I had realized that I was still smiling.

"Yeah." I said as we walked across the bridge. I stopped in the middle and leaned against it, looking out to the lake.

"You don't?" I asked him.

"No, I do but you look like you're in your own personal wonderland." He chuckled. I looked down at the water and blushed.

We stayed here for fifteen minutes. Alek was unusually quiet and when I looked over at him, I saw him gazing at the lake as if he were able to see beneath the surface, or just deep in thought.

We went back the same path as we came. When we walked through the area with the three statues, it had struck me that Alek had yet to eat anything today. As if on cue, I heard his stomach rumble.

"Hungry?" I asked with a light laugh.

"Starved…you?" He asked. I nodded my head. He walked over to a vendor and got us both hot dogs and two waters.

We ate as we began walking down a path that was full of lilacs. The aroma alone sent me into a state of euphoria, as if it were possible to be happier than I had before. It was and it overwhelmed me.

We finished eating, throwing our trash in a nearby bin. I watched as Alek gulped his water down, letting out a satisfied "ahhhh" when he finished and tossing the empty bottle in the same bin.

"Thirsty?" I asked, astonished.

"Mmhmmm, refreshed is more like it." He declared with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

We came across a huge meadow. Many people were having picnics or sunbathing. Alek looked over at me mysteriously.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing." He said, looking away quickly.

"Alek." I pushed on.

"I was just going to suggest a race." I looked at the meadow and then back at him.

"A race?" I asked.

"Yup. From here until the end of the meadow."

"What's the catch?" I asked, wondering his motives behind all of this.

"We've got to get you back into training." He stated and I groaned.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you said last night. We need to be prepared and at our full ability if we were to be caught off guard." He explained.

"So, now we're training today?" I asked, peeved.

"No, I just feel like a race." He teased.

"We'll resume to some light training on Sunday." He stated. I replied with another groan.

"You ready?" He jerked his head towards the other end of the meadow.

"Fine." I agreed. Before we could even say when to go, Alek started running at full speed. "Hey! That's not fair!" I yelled after him as I quickly followed behind him.

We ran. Alek stayed in the lead the whole way. I was picking up momentum as we neared our finishing point but Alek won. I slowed to a stop, catching my breath.

"Not fair. First of all, you got a head start. Second, you are wearing sneakers."

"Always be prepared." He winked

We caught our breath and started back in the direction of The Plaza.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what went on between you and Jason?" I asked cautiously.

"Nothing really." He sighed. "When I was here last, he would drink to the point of delirium. Not only that, but it would be in public where he was vulnerable to do anything and not really be aware of his actions. He was completely careless. I had to practically drag him home once because he was so drunk that he began hitting on the humans, just completely reckless. When I confronted him we exchanged words. It wasn't the drinking that bothered me as much as his…advances." He explained.

"Advances?"

"Yeah. Jason is known for having his way with women. He uses his status and self-assurance as a way to get whatever he wants...especially with women, so you can kind of see why I didn't like you hanging with him." He gave me a serious and concerned look.

"Well…it didn't work with me."

"That's because you're a smart girl." He nudged me in the side.

Alek and I walked over the Gapstow Bridge that overlooked the pond. We were close to the hotel now and I assumed that we would be going back there until we decided what to do next. I didn't even know what time it was. I checked my phone and was shocked to see that it was 5:30.

"Is there any particular theme to tomorrow's ball?" I asked, curiously. Alek shook his head.

"Nope, just a welcoming ball." He looked over at me. "Do you know what you're wearing?" He asked.

I briefly explained the dress that I was going to wear and he just nodded his head. I was worried that he didn't like the one I was talking about. As if he could read my weariness he told me that it was the perfect dress.

* * *

><p>When we got back to The Plaza and got back up to our suite, we immediately went out to the terrace. We were both standing and overlooking where we had spent the day.<p>

"Can I ask you something?" Alek looked at me uneasily.

"Yeah, anything." I answered, wondering what was wrong.

"You said that Jason reminded you of someone. Who were you talking about?" My face automatically reddened when he asked this. I wasn't sure what to say and I didn't want to tell him it was him.

"Nobody." I said firmly, not meeting his gaze.

"Chloe…you can tell me." He said calmly. I bit my lip in question, not answering him as I heard him sigh.

"You know Chloe, you haven't been answering my questions at all." He said angrily.

"What do you mean?"

"Meaning everything. I ask you the simplest of questions and you do everything you can to avoid them."

I opened my mouth to protest at his argument, but looked off to the side.

"Like right there. What you just did!" He yelled, pointing at me.

"I'm not avoiding anything Alek!" I yelled back.

"Then why won't you answer me?"

"I have been answering you!" I argued.

"Fine. Answer me two things. Who does Jason remind you of?" I gulped, looking over at him not wanting to answer. He shook his head at my silence.

"And more importantly, what the hell did you mean the other night when you said it was too late?" My eyes widened that he still remembered this and I raked through my brain, looking for excuses.

"Alek…"

"I thought we were making progress here Chloe." He said, his face falling.

"We are…but"

"No…we're not. I've been honest with you, you haven't been honest with me once." He stated firmly, this triggered my anger.

"Excuse me? I haven't been honest with you? Let's talk about you!" He looked away, crossing his arms. "How about the photo strip in your wallet? Why was that there?" He ignored me, his jaw tightening.

"Or how about the other night when I told you all the things I tried telling you two years ago!"

I yelled, I could feel my skin boiling.

"What about it?" He asked, irritated.

"Oh gee, I don't know…maybe the part where you pushed it out of me to finally tell you and when I did you fell asleep right after!" I felt my heart twist at the memory.

"It was jetlag!" He insisted.

"Jetlag my ass!" I retorted.

"Well, it was!" He shot back.

"Somehow I find that very hard to believe." I said, my voice flat with no emotion.

"Don't even tell me something like that Chloe. Let's just remember everything you did from two years ago."

"What are you kidding me?" I wanted to scream that he was bringing this up again.

"I told you how I felt and you dismissed it. You didn't care how I felt, all you cared about was your human and look where that got you!" He shouted, harshly, his words full of venom.

"That's not true." I could feel my eyes welling up.

"Oh please, you couldn't stop running after him. You couldn't stay away. You just had to keep pursuing him." He threw his words that felt like a knife cutting into me.

"I told you why!" I protested. He ignored me.

"And we're back at square one. You don't elaborate on _anything_." He spat. "I've tried so hard to make this work while we're here. Nobody is more sick of arguing than I am but you continue to close me out. That's not how things work Chloe." He said, his voice calmer now. I scoffed.

"It takes two." I firmly stated.

"You're right. It does take two. Practice what you preach." He spat. I saw him turn around and go back inside. I followed after him.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief. "You're the reason this happened in the first place!"

"How's that?" He turned around when he reached the bottom of the stairs and cocked his head to the side.

"Why do you think I close you out? Who shut who out first Alek? Tell me that!" We were somehow in the living room now.

He went to say something but I interrupted.

"You! It has always been you with the problem!" I yelled. He turned around and headed for the door. He made no attempt to answer me.

"There's your answer right there!" I screamed after him. He whipped around as he reached for the door.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows, he was still very angry and it showed in all aspects.

"This is exactly what I meant when I said it was too late." I said flatly, I saw his face flicker with a wave of unreadable emotions.

"Stay here, I'm going out." He opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind him.

As soon as the door shut, I clenched onto my stomach. Everything that had built up inside me was starting to come out. I grabbed onto the railing for balance and fell back to sit on one of the steps.

Tears started streaming down my face that I couldn't control. I had no idea where Alek was going or even if he was going to come back. I sudden wave of panic flooded throughout me as the next round of emotions erupted. Then, I felt angry again because he was allowed to leave when he wanted and I couldn't.

I could hear myself gasping for air as I tried to contain my emotions. It was impossible at this moment. That was by far the worst argument and it had pushed me to my breaking point and obviously to his as well because he had never stormed off. I was always the one to do that.

I said everything that needed to be said, everything that I had been holding inside. My face was soaked and my vision was blurry from all the tears. I wondered if he would come back, I thought of all his harsh words.

I stumbled up the stairs and into the bathroom, grabbing tissue and wiping the tears off of my face. I looked in the mirror and was horrified at what I saw looking back. My mascara was smudged all over my face and my face alone was as red and puffy as a tomato. I still couldn't stop the crying after the countless attempts I had made.

I went into the bedroom and got my phone out of my purse. I contemplated calling Alek, but ended up throwing my phone of the bed in frustration. I sat on the bed, holding my stomach in my arms as I cried even more. I decided that I was going to call Amy for advice. I dialed her number and ended up getting the voicemail. She must have gone to Hawaii with Paul after all.

I was devastated at this point and was sure that Alek would really want nothing to do with me after this fallout. He had been the one to walk out this time.

Alek had left around seven. It had been two and a half hours since he left and I didn't think he would be coming back. Then I heard the door open and his familiar, surprisingly calm heartbeat.

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><p><strong>I told you Chloe and Alek would have a breaking point. I'm sorry it happened like this, but here's the thing…you're going to love the next chapter. It's going to start in Alek's point of view and he's going to …I don't want to spoil it! *ZIPS LIPS* I think you'll like it regardless!<strong>

**I don't really care for the snippet in the beginning with the elevator, but I left it in there.  
><strong>

**I'm going out of town today, but I'll be back later tonight. If you want the next chapter tomorrow I'm really going to need people asking for it. I'll be getting home late and exhausted. **

**So, I guess I should tell you the events of the next chapter at least? The Ball! Oh, but in the beginning, you're going to read Alek's point of view and what happened the rest of the night. So, that chapter should be even longer than this one! Excited? Good! Review and tell me what you think!**

**You know you want to! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

***IMPORTANT* I forgot to mention the first time I uploaded. After you read the chapter, make sure to read my A/N. I don't want to say anything here because it will spoil this chapter. Also, I really hope to get a lot of feedback on this chapter. It's the longest I've written and probably the most thought through one.  
><strong>

**I know I usually upload the next chapter in the morning but by the time I got home last night I was exhausted. I was literally running on two hours of sleep. I started writing the chapter because I didn't want to make you upset for not having the daily update at the normal time. Everything I wrote was horrible and I wanted this chapter to really please you.**

**So all I can say is that I'm sorry that I'm uploading this chapter tonight instead of this morning like usual, but I needed to sleep so I could make this chapter work. I am overwhelmed with the amount of reviews I got in such a short time and felt bad that I couldn't keep my eyes from closing. I hope that you aren't mad and can forgive me. Maybe this chapter makes up for it?**

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

_"This is exactly what I meant when I said it was too late_." She had told me. I was torn between feelings of anger and hurt and I knew I had to get out of here, fast.

"Stay here, I'm going out." I opened the door and walked out, slamming it shut behind me.

Anger pulsed through my veins as I raised my fists. I wanted to punch something as hard as possible, but refrained. I grabbed onto my hair and looked up in frustration. I waited for the elevator, rethinking my decision to leave. Instead, when the elevator opened I went right in and pressed for the lobby. I couldn't stand in one spot the entire time the elevator descended. I paced back and forth inside and when the doors finally opened I ran. I ran out of the hotel and out into the night air of the city.

I tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, but it was no use. Chloe had pushed me to my breaking point. I was tired of her inability to respond to the simplest questions that I asked her. Trying to talk about something that involved the past or almost anything else was like talking to a wall with Chloe, you got nowhere. No response at all.

Instead she turned it around on me. She couldn't answer me on two very simple questions, one of which just didn't make any sense at all. She should have no problem telling me who Jason reminded her of. What was the big deal? I shrugged that off and focused on the more important question.

What did she mean when she said it was too late? She refused to answer me. It wasn't till I stormed towards the door that she answered.

_"This is exactly what I meant when I said it was too late."_

I remember what she had said prior to that.

_"Why do you think I close you out? Who shut who out first Alek? Tell me that! You! It has always been you with the problem!"_

So I was the reason that this was all happening? How could she blame this all on me? It's not like she wasn't a part of it. She started all of this when she chose Brian.

Was it really my fault that it was too late? Her words rang through my ears. _Who shut who out first Alek?_ My mind wandered back to when it all came tumbling down.

_I held the blood covered knife in my hand. I had just stabbed Zane up his ribcage and into his heart. He dropped to the ground, dead as soon as I pulled the knife from his chest. I stood in shock at everything that had just unfolded in front of me. I took a step back, and dropped the knife. It clattered to the ground. I turned slowly to see Jasmine and Valentina on the ground. Their heartbeats faint. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed a dish rag and ran over to Jasmine, who had a stronger heartbeat at the time. I placed the rag and held it firmly to her stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. I got my cell phone out and dialed one of the healers from the pride. I told them as briefly as possible what happened. _

_The healers came and within a half hour Valentina and Jasmine's heartbeat picked up. A wave of relief washed over me when I began to feel sick. Something wasn't right. I immediately thought of Chloe and was filled with terror._

_After double checking with the healer that Valentina and Jasmine would recover I left to find Chloe. I ran as quickly as I could to her house. I listened and only heard one heartbeat. She must be home alone. It was then that I heard the cries and screams coming from her room. _

_I ran up the block at an inhuman speed and climb up onto her roof. I pushed through her bedroom. Chloe was nowhere to seen in her room. I caught onto the scent of blood and panicked when I saw the bloody t-shirt on the ground. _

_Her bathroom door was shut when I heard another cry escape her mouth. I ran to the bathroom door._

"_Chloe?" I heard her gasp. _

"_Alek!" She sounded surprised. _

"_Are you alright? Open the door!" I said urgently._

"_No…I can't."_

"_What's wrong? I saw your shirt." She didn't answer me, I heard sniffles coming from within the bathroom. _

"_I'm coming in." I replied, the smell of blood getting stronger._

"_I'm not dressed. Please just go away…you don't want to see this…I don't want you to." She said between sobs. _

_The smell of blood was getting stronger. Ignoring her words I reached for the door handle to find it locked. _

"_Chloe, I will force this door open if I have to." I said sternly, and worried. Chloe let out a long cry of agony and she left me no choice. I backed up and forced the door open with my body. _

_It flew open, only causing minimal damage. I ignored that at the sight of Chloe. She was lying in the tub, wearing a blue bra and panties. I barely took notice to her attire as the first thing I saw was all the blood. It was surrounding her. Her hands were grasped on her stomach, her hands crimson. Blood was surrounding her everywhere. Her legs were covered in the blood that was slowly filling the tub. Bloody hand prints and smears were all over the side of the tub. _

_My eyes widened in fear as I ran to her side. _

"_Chloe! What happened?" My hands shook uneasily as I went to take her hands from her stomach. _

_She was extremely weak as I took her shaky hands away easily. My eyes widened in fear as I saw three gaping wounds in her stomach. _

"_Answer me Chloe what happened?" I asked urgently, taking my now blood covered hand and placing it on her cheek gently. _

"_The Order." Was all she cried. I got up quickly and brought back a towel, holding it against her stomach to try and stop the flow. _

"_It's no use." She said and I looked where she was looking. On the floor at the opposite end of the bathroom was another towel, soaked in blood. I was trying to figure out how she was still alive. Next to the towel I saw a blood covered bullet on the floor. _

_I took my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed for more healers. It seemed like we were stuck waiting forever. I held Chloe's hand as my other firmly held the towel against her wounds. _

"_Alek…I need to tell you something." She whispered, wincing in pain._

"_Shhh, you can tell me everything once you're healed." I said soothingly. _

_The healers came, and I watched worried from the corner of the bathroom. _

"_You said on the phone that she had three wounds?" One of them asked._

"_Yes…why?" I asked, confused. _

"_There's only two." I went over to look and see where he was talking about. A faint pink line was where the third hole had been. _

"_Impossible." I muttered. Chloe was healing on the brink of death._

"_Chloe, have you already lost a life?" One of the other healers asked. She looked wearily over at me and muttered a barely audible yes. Before I could react, Chloe started screaming. I immediately ran over and grabbed her hand._

"_What are you doing to her?" I screamed. _

"_Nothing! We don't know what's wrong." One responded quickly._

_Chloe's grip on my hand was seemingly strong as she cried out it agony, tears streaming down her face. I heard a clanging noise and the healers gasped. I looked to see what was wrong only to become shocked myself. Another bullet was now in the bottom of the tub. Her wound was healing quickly, being replaced by another pink line. Instead of Chloe's heartbeat growing weaker as it should have been, it was growing stronger. Her strength was building as well. _

_The healers didn't seem to be doing anything to help her, which angered me. They were talking and I couldn't understand what they were saying. Finally, the one that seemed to lead the rest turned to us._

"_From what we can tell, it seems like the Uniter is still recovering from her death. The bullets seem to be pushing themselves out, the way they came in, and her wounds are self-healing from there. We don't really know what else to do. There's nothing we can do, she will have to heal on her own. As we have seen, it isn't killing her, but only making her stronger." _

_I understood what they were saying, but was still shocked when they left. Chloe still had one bullet in her. I leaned over to kiss the top of her forehead, completely forgetting about everything from earlier tonight. _

"_I guess that this is what Valentina meant when she said each death would be more painful from the last." Chloe whined. My hands were still covered in her blood as I rubbed her back, doing everything I could to soothe her. _

_A half hour later and Chloe was screaming in pain again. Finally the third bullet protruded out of her and the wound began to heal. I made sure that she was okay before giving her privacy to wash up in the shower. I washed the blood of of my hands and told her that I would be on her roof waiting for her._

_Chloe came out a short while later and sat on the roof beside me. _

"_Are you okay?" I asked._

"_Better now, but still a little ehh." She responded._

"_Where's your mom?" I asked, wondering where she had gone to. It was unlikely for her to not be home around this hour. Whereever she was, it worked out that she hadn't been home to see the events that happened in Chloe's bathroom. _

"_Business meeting thankfully." She responded. "Alek, I need to talk to you." She said uneasily. _

_I looked over at her, giving her a gentle smile._

"_Brian's dead…he kissed me." She said slowly. Sudden anger washed through me as I clenched my fists, my jaw tightening. I didn't know what to say, the rage was boiling inside me. I decided that I was no longer needed and was going home. _

"_Alek…please let me finish. He kissed me…I didn't want…" I cut her off, not wanting to hear another word._

"_You just couldn't stay away could you? Now look what you did. Look what happened because of your recklessness. You died and so did that human. I hope your little kiss was worth it." _

"_Alek…let me explain!" _

"_No…you chose who you wanted and look where it got you. I'm done with you." I spat and disappeared from the roof, leaving her there, ignoring her as she yelled for me to come back. _

I was sitting on a bench in Times Square as I recalled that night. Chloe came to the penthouse in tears the next day. She was talking about everything, including something that had to do with her mother. I didn't bother to listen to a word of it. Before I knew it, she was moving into the penthouse with all of us. I ignored her, the only time I acknowledged her was when I would shoot a snide comment at her, just to piss her off and try to make her feel how I felt.

For months she would approach me, trying to talk about that night, him. I wouldn't listen to her. I did shut her out. After a while, Chloe started shooting the remarks back at me and other than that ignoring me entirely, just as I had done to her.

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><p>Recalling everything that happened the past two years made me realize that I had shut her out. It had been me. Chloe was right about it all. Before I could think anymore, my phone rang. I quickly pulled it from my pocket, in hope of seeing Chloe's name flash up, but was disappointed to see that it was Jasmine. I reluctantly picked up.<p>

"Hello?" I mumbled.

"Hey Alek…what's going on…everything's okay right?" She questioned, obviously able to pick up my mood.

"No Jasmine, not really. What do you want?"

"I was calling to see if things have improved with you and Chloe but from what I'm picking up they haven't."

"No…no they were. They were really starting to turn around until we had a big blow up about an hour and a half ago." I explained frustratingly.

"What do you mean?" I sighed, annoyed.

"Meaning we were at least starting to become friends when I asked her something about a conversation we had earlier this week." I explained, not going into details. "One thing led to the next and we fought about everything from the past two years. She said I shut her out first."

"Well, you did." Jasmine interrupted. "You practically put her on mute and only talked to her when you wanted to take your anger out on somebody." I sighed, realizing that she was right. Before she called I realized it had been me. Jasmine only confirmed it.

"Alek…where is Chloe…you're with her right?"

"She's back at the hotel." I said flatly.

"Well, you can't leave her there by herself. What if she left?" She lectured.

"She'll be fine." I stated.

"Alek, you better make things right. I'm really tired of hearing and seeing you two at eachothers throats all the time."

"I'm going to try." I said.

"Now get back to the hotel before she leaves, then you'll really be sorry."

"Bye Jasmine." I said, irritatingly.

I got up from where I was sitting. I knew that it was up to me to make everything right. Everything was out in the open now. It was time to mend all the broken pieces. I was going to pick up dinner and go back to the hotel. I just hope she didn't hate me forever.

I was looking around, trying to figure out where I should get dinner for the two of us when I saw the Swarovski store across the street. I thought about the ball tomorrow and the dress that Chloe told me she was wearing. I had remembered why I asked her in the first place. I had been planning on buying her something to wear with it as we walked through Central Park. Things were going really well between us and I thought it would be romantic. Unfortunately, things spiraled down as soon as we went back to the hotel.

Not wanting to give up on us, I walked over, thinking of what I could get her for tomorrow. My eyes traveled the displays until I found the perfect thing.

I walked back towards the hotel and came across a Chinese restaurant. I ordered take out for us before proceeding towards the hotel. I had been gone for a few hours and had felt awful for everything that went on.

As I got off the elevator and walked to the door, an instant wave of fear passed over me as I remembered Jasmine's words. _What if she leaves?_ I tried not to think of the possibility as I walked into the suite. I could hear Chloe crying upstairs and was hit with an instant pang of guilt. The item I bought her was in my hand and I didn't want her to see it. I quietly opened the coat closet and put the Swarovski bag on the top shelf, hidden. Even if she had opened the closet, she wouldn't be able to see it in the back corner.

I slowly ascended the stairs, Chinese food in the bag in my hands. Chloe was sitting on the bed, facing towards the bathroom so I couldn't see her face. I saw that her hands were a little shaky and she had stopped crying.

"I brought back dinner." I said quietly, not knowing what else to say. I didn't know where to begin, what I would say. It was clear she didn't want to talk to me. Her back was to me. I wanted to embrace her and let her know how sorry I was, but I didn't want her to push me away. I stood there for a minute in hopes of hearing her voice. Instead she just sat there, no movement or sound escaping her except for the steady breathing and the pounding heart in her chest. I sighed and walked out onto the terrace.

I placed her food in her seat in hopes of her coming out. I was slowly eating mine when I heard movement in the bedroom. She had gotten up and I heard the bathroom door close, the faucet turning on.

Five minutes later, she appeared on the terrace. Her eyes were dry, but I could tell she had been crying for hours. Her face was red and puffy, even in the moonlight. She silently sat across from me and began to eat. I finished my dinner before her and decided to stay with her. I had hoped she would say something because I was too afraid to.

She didn't glance up at me once as I watched her eat. She seemed calm, but I knew that on the inside she was falling apart. When she was finished, she got up, not acknowledging me and went to walk back into the suite with her empty containers.

"Chloe?" She stopped, not turning around. "I'm sorry." I managed to say, scared of what she would say. I didn't want to fight again.

"Thank you." She paused. "For dinner." She continued. She walked back into the suite. I felt awful that she ignored me.

As I was walking back into the suite, I noticed Chloe grab her phone from the bed. Amy's ringtone was going off. Chloe walked passed me, not looking at me again as she went downstairs.

I sighed and threw away the rest of the containers from dinner. I changed out of my jeans into a pair of grey sweats and taking my shirt off.

I lay in bed, my mind swarming with thoughts from the past two years. I thought of all the horrible things that I had said to her. This really was all my fault. I was too stubborn and concerned with my own feelings to notice what it had done to us. I heard Chloe's steady heartbeat in the living room below, probably texting Amy so I wouldn't be able to listen in on their conversation.

No matter what I did to try and take my mind off things, my thoughts always wandered back to Chloe. She was all that was on my mind. It didn't make things any better that deep down I knew that I was very much in love with her. I fell in love with her over two years ago. As much as I tried to stop, I couldn't. I didn't mean for any of this to go on for so long. It's been two years! What the hell was wrong with me?

My mind wandered back to what she had said a few days ago.

"_I didn't want to be in love with him, because I was falling for you."_

She said she was falling for me _two years ago_. She also said that it was too late now. What if it wasn't? I strongly believed that we could fix this.

Determined, I got up to go downstairs. My hopes of talking to her fell when I saw her asleep on the sofa. Not wanting her to wake up with a strained neck I walked over and picked her up in my arms.

She subconsciously wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled into my chest. I smiled to myself as I began walking back upstairs.

"Alek." She said softly. I stopped in place and looked down at her.

"Yes?" I asked, but she was still sleeping. One of her hands was falling from my neck and running down to rest of my chest.

"Please don't leave me." She whispered, it was barely audible but I heard it. I smiled, but felt guilty again remembering how I walked out that night. I continued up the stairs and laid her gently on the bed. I covered her and lay beside her. I had heard Chloe talk in her sleep before but was normally unable to make out what she was saying. I had no idea whether Chloe had been sleeping, or awake at that moment.

"I'll never leave you again…I promise." I said. I knew she probably couldn't hear me, but I needed to say it.

"Thank you." I was shocked when her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me. Her eyes closed and she fell back to sleep.

I smiled, in hopes that we made some sort of connection before I drifted into a deep sleep.

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

The next morning I woke up facing Alek. His features were soft and our arms were touching side by side. I thought that I had fell asleep on the couch but then I remembered a pair of strong arms, only known as Alek's, carrying me up the stairs. I was half asleep but I could still remember asking him not to leave me again.

When he laid me in bed he promised that he wouldn't. Feeling somewhat at peace, I thanked him and went back to sleep. I wasn't sure where he had gone, he was gone for hours, but I know he came back in a calmer state.

After dinner I had gone downstairs. Amy was calling me, but I didn't want Alek listening in so we texted for a while. I told her everything that I could through text. Amy responded back as a friend would, but towards the end of our conversation she added what she thought.

Amy told me that she thought the reason for all this was because Alek loved me. I didn't believe that when she told me the first time and I still didn't. I remember how she told me that things would work out between the two of it and she knew it. She told me to stay calm and now that everything was out in the open, things would get better. Amy knew that I loved Alek, which is another reason she constantly pushed me to tell him how I really felt. I never had, I had told him what I wanted to tell him two years ago but then added that it was too late. I didn't want him to think I still felt for him because I knew that he didn't anymore.

I heard Alek began to stir beside me. I got up slowly remembering that today was the ball and I needed to start preparing for it both physically and emotionally.

"Chloe?"

Sitting on the edge of the bed my back was facing him, so I turned my head to the side to acknowledge him.

"Can we talk?" Alek was rising so that he was resting on his elbows.

I gently nodded my head as I got up. I realized I was still wearing my clothes from when we went out yesterday. Ignoring that, I walked out onto the terrace to enjoy the morning air.

Shortly after, Alek followed. The last time we had actually talked out here was when we had the big blow up. He stood next to me as we both stared ahead at the view the terrace gave us.

"You wanted to talk?" I asked, nervously. I didn't want to fight again.

"Yes…" – he paused for a moment before continuing – "I'm sorry."

I looked over at him, surprised to see that he was the one apologizing and he looked sincere about it.

"I shouldn't have pressured you into answering things you didn't want to answer, nor should I have reacted the way I did." He said firmly, careful with his words. I didn't say anything mainly because I didn't know what _to say_.

"And…you're right. I did shut you out, and I'm sorry about that. I was a complete asshole, still am." He said, making a point to keep eye contact. I looked away.

"I understand that you're sorry, but that doesn't make things okay." I responded.

"I know it doesn't…but I hope that one day things will be?" He questioned, unsure as to whether or not that's what I wanted. I looked over at him. I was able to tell by the look on his face that his words were genuine and he did want to make things alright.

"I hope so." I agreed. I didn't really know what to say. Alek wasn't one to apologize, but it seemed like he was doing a lot of that lately…as if he were trying.

"I'm sorry too…for what I said." I said sincerely. "It was mean and it was out of line."

"It was, but it was also true." Alek agreed, his lips curving into a smirk and I knew what was coming next. "Plus, I kinda deserved it." He chuckled. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh as well.

Most of the tension had risen from that point, but things were still very awkward between the two of us. Alek and I barely spoke that day. We ate breakfast and lunch in silence. It wasn't until we were getting ready for the ball that Alek approached me.

I had just showered, brushed my teeth and put on my make-up. I straightened most of my hair and put it in an updo, letting a few loose tendrils cascade around my face. My dress was hanging and my shoes were beside it.

The dress was yellow, similar to a Daffodil. It was strapless and was a mermaid dress. I put it on slowly, careful not to damage it as I slid it up. It immediately grasped onto all of my curves like a glove. I felt like Belle for a moment. It was the perfect dress for the occasion. I slipped on my heels and walked out of the bathroom. I heard Alek downstairs, he must have still been getting ready. I walked over to the long vanity mirror to get a better look. The fabric was scrunched and it draped as it went down my legs. It was a beautiful dress and I was surprised on how well it fit me.

I was still looking in the mirrors when Alek came upstairs. He was in his black tuxedo and his hair was styled as usual.

"You look beautiful." He said slowly, drawing it out. I smiled at myself in the mirror.

"Thanks." Alek approached me. He had something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Yesterday when we were in the park, I wanted to get something for you…that's why I asked what you were wearing to the ball today. I planned on getting this for you before we fought, but it didn't work out that way." He was now standing behind me.

"I picked it out after everything happened last night." I looked in the mirror down at the blue box he held in his hands. I quickly looked up at him, making eye contact through the mirror to see the small smile on his face. I looked back down at the box as he slowly opened it.

It was an absolutely beautiful necklace. It was a set of oval crystal stones. They were all clear except for the two light yellow crystals that surrounded the center one. I was at a loss of words on how pretty it was.

"It's beautiful." I told him. It was all I could say because of how overwhelmed I was. I knew that it was expensive and was shocked that Alek spent his money like that on me. I looked back up at him, my eyes wide. He smiled, not saying anything and took the necklace from the box.

I watched him from the mirror as he placed the necklace around my neck. It hung perfectly on me. The smile on his face never left as he finished putting it on. His hand brushed against my skin, sending a wave of bliss throughout my bones. I took in a sharp breath.

"It looks even more stunning on you." He said, looking at me through the mirror. He placed his hand lightly on my right shoulder. I turned my head to look at it. We stayed like this for a minute. I wanted to say something more, and I could tell he was contemplating on the thought as well.

"Come on, the limo's waiting for us downstairs." His hand trailed down my arm as he took my hand.

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><p><strong>I'm writing the next chapter and it will be up tomorrow. Usual schedule again, so I hope that you all review as much as you did on the last chapter because I would not be able to write this story without all of it. I never thought this story would take off like it did.<strong>

**My goal is to write a chapter a day to this story for at least one month. It's going to be a long story, and I hope that you can all enjoy it as a daily soap opera. I have a lot of fun writing it. **

**I didn't expect this chapter to be so long, but a lot of you wanted to know how it went down two years ago. I really hope that that part satisfied you. Maybe I will write more flashbacks in future chapters, just let me know what you thought.**

**I know I said this chapter would be the ball but the actual ball is going to be long and I didn't want the chapter to have more than it needed. So basically, this chapter is a two-part. Alek and Chloe really needed a turn around. The breaking point really got things out into the open and they both want to fix this, especially Alek since he knows it's he who shut her out first.**

**I put the link that leads you to the page for the fanfic. On that page, I put links to Chloe's dress and the necklace that Alek got her. :)  
><strong>

**I normally upload at around six or seven in the morning, so that's less than 12 hours away now. **

**I'll put it up even sooner if I get crazy reviews like yesterday. So with all that said…review!**

**You know you want to! ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Please forgive me for the short chapter, I'm falling asleep at my computer so if there are any mistakes I will fix them when I wake up.**

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><p><span>Chloe Point of View <span>

His hand didn't let go of mine as we made it down the stairs, not even as we entered the elevator. I wasn't sure what this had meant. He had given me the necklace which he had said he had been planning to get me before the fight. I couldn't help but wonder if getting everything out in the open had been a good thing. Of course it was awful that we fought in the first place, but things seemed to be better since then.

For once, I wasn't worried about fighting with him. Maybe it had been a breaking point for him as well and this was just what we needed. I looked down at our hands, Alek must have seen me do so because he quickly took his hand away.

"Sorry…" He muttered, nervously.

"It's okay." I said softly, disappointed he had pulled away. "We probably should play our roles though so we don't slip up?" I suggested, not for the sake of what the prides thought but because I wanted to.

"Chloe…I wasn't…" He started but the elevator doors dinged open. Before we stepped off, Alek gave me a smile. "Come on." That was all that he had said. I wondered what it was he was going to say before the doors opened.

We made our way through the lobby, exiting the front entrance to find the limo waiting. The driver opened the door for Alek and I. I lifted my dress up a little so I could get in, Alek sliding in beside me. I wasn't sure where the ball was being held, all I knew was that it was located somewhere in the Upper East Side.

When we arrived, the chauffeur opened the door for us. Alek got out and offered his hand. I gladly took it, giving him a small smile as I rose out of the limo. He let go of my hand, only to place it gently on my back guiding me into the building.

We walked through the halls leading up to the ballroom. Everything was a mixture of white and gold. When we entered the ballroom, I was completely overwhelmed. A massive crystal chandelier hung overhead, placed directly in the center of the room. Tables off to the right were lined with burgundy table cloths, candle's centered on the tables in crystal votives. The walls were painted gold and had extravagant decorations around. The rest of the room was strictly used as a ballroom. On the one side, an orchestra had gathered and was playing something soft that sounded like Mozart. Many Mai were staring at us when we entered and I became extremely intimidated.

"Breathe." Alek pulled me close and whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes, soothed by his voice. I opened them to see them all staring back at me, but this time I felt less intimidated by them. I looked up at Alek to see his reassuring smile as we walked further into the ballroom, making our way to a familiar group of Mai.

"Chloe, Alek…it's a pleasure to see you again." Jonathon turned around, giving us a wide smile. Alek shook his hand and I nodded, greeting him with a smile in return.

"Great to see you, thank you for all of this." I said, looking around at everything. "This is amazing; really you guys didn't have to do this."

"It's no problem at all, I'm glad that you like it. We were worried you wouldn't." Jonathon let out a chuckle, referring to all of the representing prides. It seemed as if prides from all over were also attending. "You'll have to excuse me. I need to speak with the Paris pride regarding business." He excused himself, making his way over to them, leaving Alek and I by ourselves.

We were greeted once again by other pride members from all over the world. I was shocked at the amount of Mai who had flown just to meet me. After a while, Alek and I had sat down at a table. I was worried when I heard a few Mai talking about us.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like it to me." One of them said.

"They aren't very affectionate are they?" Another asked.

As if Alek was listening in too, he looked over at me apologetically. He then got up and offered his hand.

"Dance with me." He said softly. I placed my hand in his again as he led me to the dance floor.

He slowly spun me towards him. His hand placed on my back as his other was held my other hand. I reached up and placed my hand firmly on his shoulder. He pulled us closer together so that our fronts were practically touching.

We looked into each other's eyes as we danced, never breaking contact. I looked around to see even more Mai staring at us as we swept across the dance floor. I tried to tune out all their doubts and focus. Alek pulled me closer to him, moving his hand to my upper back and leaning me towards him.

"We need to step it up; I don't think they are buying it. Laugh." He whispered into my ear, low enough so only I could hear him. "Laugh like I'm whispering sweet nothings into your ear and we are the only two people in the room." I smiled, wishing this were actually true and did what Alek told me too. I laughed as if he were telling me a joke or teasing me. I tried to mimic what I had only seen in the movies.

"Chloe…I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable, but something doesn't seem right." His breath on my ear made me shiver as I looked around at some very displeased Mai.

"What do you suggest?" I whispered back.

"Pretend." Alek dipped me as I let my head fall back. I understood what he meant the moment he said it. He wanted me to pretend that I really did love him. This would be easy considering the reality of the matter. We may have been pretending to be mates, but there was no denying that I did love him.

Alek pulled me back up slowly. I looked at him with a wide smile on my face. Our foreheads were touching and we both smiled at each other. I took the hand that was on his shoulder and placed it on his cheek. Alek looked down at my hand as I ran it down his cheek.

My hand went back down to firmly rest on his chest as his arms wrapped around my waist. I leaned my head on his chest as well and closed my eyes. I felt Alek kiss my forehead and smiled.

"Well aren't you two the happy couple." I quickly opened my eyes to find Jason standing before us. Alek and I had stopped dancing, looking at him wondering what he wanted.

"Don't stop on my account." He snickered and walked away. I looked up at Alek who had his jaw tightened.

Alek and I continued to dance for a while before being interrupted by Jonathon.

"It seems my boy is a bit intimidated by you Alek. Chloe, would you please grant him one dance?" He chuckled. Alek and I looked behind Jonathon to see Jason, a victorious grin on his face. I agreed reluctantly, not wanting to stir up any trouble.

I followed Jason further onto the dance floor, looking back at a worried Alek and a pleased Jonathon. Jason placed an arm firmly around my waist, taking my hand. We started dancing slowly. I kept my eye's locked on Alek who was watching us.

"Having fun tonight?" Jason asked.

"I was." I said firmly. "But then you interrupted."

"You know, not very many people seem to believe you and your _friend_ are really mates." He said, taunting.

"Well, it seems everyone's senses have gone missing. Alek is my best friend, that's what is so great about all of this. Alek and I are madly in love and we don't need to prove anything." I stated.

"Right. You know, just because it was written in the prophecies doesn't mean it's true." He pulled me in closer as I became confused. What prophecies? I didn't dare to ask and was saved when Alek came over.

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><p><strong>Mega-short chapter. I have a lot planned for everything that goes down in the ball but I am literally falling asleep at my computer. Consider this a preview? <strong>

**Please, please, please forgive me once again. My sleeping schedule had totally been thrown off balance the past few days. **

**What did you think of this chapter? Links for Chloe's dress and the necklace can be found on my profile. Just follow the link and will bring it all to you.**

**Please review on your thoughts of what will happen. A lot of you wanted Jason at the ball, but I can tell you that he's not really trouble. This chapter is probably all you are going to see from him the next few chapters. And plus, he's unknowingly bring Chloe and Alek together even more so it's a win win in a way! **

**As always, I love waking up to reviews so leave them! **

**You know you want too! ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**You all really seem to like Alek's point of view. Haha! It seems that some of you don't like Jason but let me say this. Everything that he's doing is bringing Alek and Chloe closer together. Jason doesn't realize this of course, he's just an ass, but Alek's reactions and Chloe's really help bring them together. They need a little push. **

**Also, the chapters are a little bit shorter than usual but I've been really busy lately. I'm getting ready to move and I have a lot on my To do list. I hope you don't mind too much since I have continued to upload every day. Enjoy!**

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><p>I was watching Chloe dance with Jason in agony. I didn't want him dancing with her. She was mine, and he needed to back off. I listened in on their conversation and was satisfied that Chloe didn't seem to be happy to dance with him. I was only barely paying attention to their conversation when I heard a remark that I didn't like from Jason.<p>

_"You know, not very many people seem to believe you and your __friend__ are really mates."_ I cocked my head so I could listen carefully to Chloe's response.

_"Well, it seems everyone's senses have gone missing. Alek is my best friend, that's what is so great about all of this. Alek and I are madly in love and we don't need to prove anything."_ I smiled at this. Chloe sounded irritated but what made me smile was the fact of how genuine she sounded. Either she was an astounding actress, or there was a part of her that still felt for me as I do for her. I had hoped there was truth this statement.

_"Right. You know, just because it was written in the prophecies doesn't mean it's true."_ The song was coming to a close and when I heard Jason mention the prophecies I was furious. How dare he? I worried, knowing Chloe had no idea what the prophecies were and I didn't want her to find out. I didn't want her to fall for me just because some prophet had a vision over a thousand years ago. I made my way towards them.

"Song's over." I said firmly, indicating that Jason was still holding her in a waltz form. Chloe looked over at me and smiled nervously. I smiled back at Chloe, holding out my hand. She slipped herself from Jason and took my hand. I looked over at Jason who had a firm gaze on his face.

I led Chloe away and pulled her back into me, closer than ever. She put her arms around my neck as I wrapped mine around her hips.

"Miss me?" I smirked. She laughed and looked back up at me.

"Only because you're much better than him." She teased.

"Of course I am."

Chloe and I danced on, it felt right but I felt that something was bothering her. I could only guess what it was and my guess was what Jason had told her. I knew she wouldn't mention it in front of all of the hearing-sensitive Mai in the room and it would definitely be a conversation we had back at the hotel. I was thankful that this left me time to come up with a cover story. I decided that I would take her mind off of it. I pulled her even closer.

"Don't let what Jason said get to you. He was just trying to make trouble." I whispered softly into her ear and she pulled back to look at me with a weary expression on her face.

"I promise." I reassured her and pulled her back so I could whisper in her ear again.

"He's jealous that he's not the one with the most beautiful girl in the room." I felt Chloe smile into my neck. "Don't let it get to your head. There are a few girls that seem pretty jealous that you have me too." I teased and she laughed.

We were now face to face. Chloe's hand ran down my cheek and she took hold on my chin softly, rubbing her thumb over it. "Don't flatter yourself. It's not very attractive." She was now the one whispering in my ear.

"So I am attractive?" I chuckled. I felt her smile against my ear.

"Don't let it get to your head." She repeated my teasing words.

I had tuned out everyone else in the room. It was just me, Chloe, and the music. I didn't care what people thought of our 'relationship'. They could believe what they wanted for now, but Chloe was the one I loved, even if she didn't love me back…yet.

The orchestra was playing an upbeat tempo. I took her hands from around my neck, keeping one as I instructed her to place it elsewhere. My free hand went to her mid-back as we glided across the floor. I stopped, abruptly dipping her down and bringing her back up just as quickly. The loose tendrils of her hair swam forwards and her chest was to mine, her lips only inches away.

I looked down at her tender lips and desperately wanted to kiss her. Chloe's breathing hitched, as if she was picking up on my wants. I surprised her by spinning her outwards. I spun her under my arms back into me. Chloe's free hand was pressed into my chest. I smiled, my gaze wandering from her eyes down to her lips again.

"You are an amazing actress." I complimented in her ear.

"You are an incredible actor." She whispered back into my ear. I smiled and pulled away, staring back at her angelic face.

"Who says I'm acting?" I asked smiling. I was going to kiss her. Before I could start leaning down, I got an unsettling feeling. For the second time tonight, something didn't feel right. My smile faded as I looked over her shoulder.

"Alek, what's wrong?" Chloe asked softly.

I looked around the ballroom, wondering what was causing me to feel this way. I shook my head. "I don't know yet."

I led Chloe off of the dance floor. I knew something wasn't right and I needed to figure out what it was immediately. Chloe followed quickly behind me, her hand tightening its grasp in mine. I went over to where Jonathon and Jason were. They turned their attention to us, Jason looking directly at Chloe with a smirk. No matter what my issues had been with Jason, I ignored him for now. I brought Chloe closer to me, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Something isn't right. I can feel it." I told them. Jason and Jonathon now both held serious gazes as their eyes scanned the ballroom looking for an immediate threat.

"Very well. I'll check with the guards." Jonathon said. I wasn't sure why they believed me so easily without any type of evidence, but I was thankful.

He took out his cell phone, dialing a number. He walked away briefly to talk with whomever. Chloe didn't say anything as she stood tense beside me. Jason had also pulled out his phone and I was able to catch that he was speaking to a guard from the back entrance. Both Mai returned shortly.

"No sign of the order from the front." Jonathon informed us.

"None from the back either." Jason confirmed.

My eyes scanned the room briefly. A man who I had never seen before was alone in the corner of the ballroom, studying Chloe. I tugged Chloe in closer.

"Shady guy in the corner, definitely not Mai." I mumbled to them all.

"I'll check it out." Jason said, walking in the direction of the man.

"You are positive there is no sign of the order anywhere?" I asked Jonathon.

"We have guards stationed at every entrance of the building, sneaking by would be nearly impossible."

"But that human got in, so it's not impossible as you think." I said. Jonathon didn't say a word as Jason was walking back to us.

"I don't know what to make of him. I don't think he's from the Order." Jason explained. I looked back over at the guy. He was still in the corner and looking around. Confusion shot through me as I tried to figure this out.

"Unless he's a messenger." I stated, the pieces coming together.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"They want to know if the Uniter is really in New York…"

"before they stage an attack." Jonathon finished for me. I nodded my head.

Jonathon motioned for another member of the New York pride to come over towards us.

"I want you to find out everything that he knows, and then get rid of him." Jonathon told the Mai, pointing towards the man. They took their orders and began to take care of the situation.

"I suppose we will call it a night for you two. We won't be putting the Uniter in danger if there is even the slightest chance of it. We'll meet tomorrow at one to discuss if we need to take any further action."

I nodded my head in agreement and I could tell Chloe was disappointed beside me. I wondered if it was real disappointment or just her acting.

"There will be more balls Chloe. As a matter of fact, the Black and White Gala is on Friday." Chloe smiled as Jonathon told her this.

"Thank you." I nodded. "Come on." I led Chloe away from the father and son, taking her hand once again.

"Do you really think that guy is working for the order?" Chloe asked as she walked beside me, our hands still together.

"I'm pretty certain. We'll know tomorrow."

We had left the ballroom and were halfway down the foyer when Chloe stopped. I turned around and looked at her in confusion.

"I don't want to go." Chloe said softly, her eyes pleading.

"I know, but tonight we have to. The next ball will be ten times better." I said firmly, looking into her eyes. She looked away only slightly disappointed.

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><p>The ride in the limo back to The Plaza was particularly quiet, as was the journey up the elevator. Things were awkward, but it was more of a nervous awkwardness rather than the tense awkwardness we had been used to.<p>

Going into the suite, I took off my jacket and bow tie, loosening my shirt. Chloe silently walked past me and ascended the stairs. I decided to follow after her.

She was standing in front of the mirror, her hand touching the necklace I gave her. I went over and placed my hands gently on her shoulders. I looked into the mirror at the two of us. She had a gentle smile on her face as she admired the necklace.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a soothing tone.

"Yeah." She laughed and looked down nervously. "I just have a lot on my mind." She looked at me through the mirror.

"Did you have a good time?" I asked, smiling softly.

"Well if you mean before it was cut short, then yes." She blushed. I felt a spark of hope.

"With me…or the ball in general?" I asked nervously. She smiled and walked away, my hands falling from her shoulders. She walked out onto the terrace, looking back at me and smiling again.

Intrigued by her new found mysteriousness, I followed her. Chloe had been flirting with me back at the ball, and it seemed genuine to me. The ball was over and she still seemed to be playful. On the terrace, her back was turned towards me and she was staring up at the moon.

"So, which was it?" I asked, smirking. She turned her head to the side, her lips curved into another smile.

"Maybe both." She said, turning to look back up at the moon. I advanced towards her slowly. I grabbed onto her wrists, pulling her towards me gently. She gasped in surprise, looking down at the small space between our bodies.

"Is that so?" I smirked, her smile got even wider. I let go of her wrists. She could have taken a step back, but she stayed exactly where she was.

"You really did look breathtaking tonight." I told her, still amazed that she looked flawless. Her eyes flickered for a moment. She tried to hide her smile by biting her lip. Next she was looking around until she finally looked back into my eyes. I recognized that anywhere.

"You're doing that thing again." I teased.

"What thing?" She asked nervously.

"That look." I stated as she blushed. I knew she knew exactly what I was talking about but decided to explain it to her anyways. "You know…you bite your lip…" – I took a step closer to her – "look every which way you can before…" – I put my hand on her cheek softly – "looking into my eyes." I said huskily.

Her eyes sparkled under the moonlight as she looked into my eyes nervously. I was finally going to kiss her. I removed a loose tendril from her face, brushing it behind her ear.

"Would it be alright if I kissed you?" I asked softly, as I heard her breath hitch.

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><p><strong>So what do you think? Do you want them to kiss? Do you think it's still too early? Do you think it's perfect? Only I know! ;) You'll just have to find out in the next chapter. You know how to get that chapter? Review!'<strong>

**You know you want to! ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

****UPDATE AT END OF CHAPTER**  
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**Borderline M-Rated Chapter, just warning you. Not really too bad. I hope you like it though. **

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View<span>

_"Would it be alright if I kissed you?" I asked softly, as I heard her breath hitch._

Chloe was looking into my eyes; they drifted down to my lips. I took that as a yes and inched in closer, parting my lips. Our lips brushed together only slightly, but enough to send a shock through my veins.

I opened my eyes to make sure Chloe was ready, her eyes were closed. I moved my head to the right as I leaned in in closer. I could hear the sharp breathing escaping her lips. I brought up my hand and rested it on her cheek. Our lips were about to meet.

"Alek…" She let out a breath. I opened my eyes to see her looking up at me. "We can't." She stuttered. I felt a wave of confusion and disappointment wash over me. "It's too soon." She whispered, pulling my hands slowly from her face.

I took a step back, dumbfounded. "First it was too late, now it's too soon?" I asked, trying to mask the anger I was beginning to feel.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" She defended herself. "It's just I think that we are still playing a role, and we haven't realized that."

I felt hurt and took another step back. She must have seen the pain in my expression because she took a step towards me.

"Alek, we've been at each other's throats for two years and now all of the sudden we are about to kiss?" I didn't say a word as I listened to her.

"I just think that we are wrapped in this…this show we've been putting on for the prides. It's getting to our heads and messing with them." She said, uncertainty in her voice.

"Chloe…I'm not…" I started only to be interrupted by a nervous Chloe.

"You say that now." Chloe gave me a gentle smile and walked back into the suite, leaving me alone on the terrace.

Chloe thought that I was just caught up in the moment? Why would she think that? Surely she can't believe it, can she? None of this even answered my main question. Did she feel as I did for her?

I went back into the suite to see Chloe already changed into a pair of black silk shorts and the matching tank.

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

What did I just do? Did I really ruin the perfect moment between Alek and me? Yes. I did. Why did I have to think about all the what ifs? That's why I stopped the kiss. I thought that Alek was caught up in the show. We weren't around anybody of course, but I still couldn't help but feel as if we were still stuck back in front of everybody…as if trying to prove something.

The time we shared at the ball tonight was amazing, and I wish that it hadn't been an act.

I was sitting on the bed when Alek walked back in. He looked stressed and disappointed. He looked over at me only to let his eyes flicker away. I wanted to go back to that moment and actually kiss him. My insecurities had gotten in the way once again.

Alek went into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later in just his boxers. I couldn't help but let my eyes run over his perfectly structured body like I had been this entire week. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward as Alek slid into bed beside me.

We didn't say a word to each other except for the casual good night. I fell asleep looking up at the ceiling as I tried to think what would have happened if I let him kiss me.

_"Would it be alright if I kissed you?" Alek asked me. I couldn't find the words to speak as my breathing hitched. I looked down at his lips as he inched towards me. Our lips barely brushed each other's and I felt the magnetic spark trying to pull us together. I closed my eyes, my mind racing with anticipation. _

_I felt Alek place his hand on the side of my face. I parted my lips. A few moments later Alek's lip planted themselves firmly on my lips. Alek pulled away and I opened my eyes. His eyes were fluttering before mine and I could feel my heart palpitating in my chest. _

_Alek placed his other hand on the opposite side of my face before his lips crashed into mine. I let out a whimper of surprise as I accepted his kiss. He dragged his tongue slowly across the bottom of my lips, begging for entrance. I granted him permission, his tongue slipping in and entangling in mine. _

_I brought my hand up to his chest as my other knotted into the nape of his neck. I felt Alek's hand wander down towards my back, pushing me up, deepening the kiss between us. I moaned into his mouth as I felt both us his hands swarms up my hips. I started stepping back wards and Alek placed his hands firmly on my hips, guiding me back into the suite. _

_I took this as an invitation to begin unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, pulling it down his arms when I was done. I removed my mouth from his; gasping for air as his lips moved themselves to my neck. I felt Alek fumbling with my dress, as if he were looking for zipper. His fingers finally found it on the side of the dress as he pulled it down quickly. _

_Being a ball gown, it didn't fall completely to the floor. It floated around me. I had to break apart from Alek to pull the dress down and off. I tossed it to a chair in the corner of the room. Alek's eyes widened and devoured me as they roamed my body. As if something was taking over me, I grabbed onto the loops of Alek's pants and pulled him into me. Alek let out a growl and I didn't realize before our chests touched that I was braless, the dress had a built-in. My eyes flushed in slight embarrassment. _

_Alek's hands came up and tugged on my hair gently, pushing my face towards him and taking my lips in his mouth again. He tugged on the bottom of my lip with his teeth, causing me to roll my head back in pleasure. _

_I reached down and unbuttoned his pants, pushing them down. They pooled around his ankles and he kicked out of them. I reached up and entangled my fingers into his messy hair, pulling. Another animalistic growl escaped Alek's lips as he walked us forward. _

_My knees hit the back of the back and I fell backwards, pulling him with me. We went up further on the bed, getting in a more comfortable position. I let loose of Alek's hair to graze my fingers down his back. _

_Breaking the kiss, Alek's lips trailed down my neck, nipping at my skin. My hips bucked forward when he hit the sensitive spot near my collarbone. Alek stopped and looked at me, a smirk on his face. His hands trailed down my body, across my stomach, sending shivers throughout me. _

_Alek went down, admiring my breasts, but kissing his way down my stomach eagerly. His hand travelled up my thigh and although my panties were still on, I knew exactly what he wanted. Before anything went further, I heard a blaring noise in the distance. _

I gasped awake, my breathing heavy as I heard my alarm going off. My head was resting on something firm and warm, my hands grasped in a thin fabric. I realized that I had been laying on Alek's chest, grasping at his chest nonetheless.

"Good dream?" Alek said in a cocky manner. I jumped and turned my head. He had his arms thrown behind his head as he smirked down at me.

"God no." I said, pushing myself off of him, completely embarrassed. _Incredible dream, _I thought. I hid my face so he couldn't catch it.

"Sounded like it to me." My eyes widened, I had feared I had something in my sleep for an instant.

"What do you mean?" I asked quickly.

"Just a lot of heavy breathing, clenching my chest and a few moans here and there. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were dreaming about me." He teased.

"In your dreams." I scoffed, getting up and shutting off my alarm.

"Then what was it about?" He sat up, leaning towards me. My back was facing him, but I could feel him right behind my shoulder, causing my heart to race.

"Assassin." I lied. "Yeah, huge brawl." I covered. I turned to look at Alek, who looked at me skeptically.

"I don't believe you." He said in a sing-song voice.

I blushed and got up quickly. "Yeah well, I'm getting ready. We have to get to the meeting remember?"

Alek and I ate breakfast in silence. I tried not to look up at him as I felt his taunting eyes pierce into me. Soon after, I was showered and ready for the meeting. I was wearing the Dolce and Gabbana ruched dress. It was the first dress I had picked out when Alek and I went dress shopping. It still hadn't been zipped in the back and I tried endlessly to zip it up myself but failed. I dreaded asking for Alek's help because of the dream, but I had no other choice.

"Alek…" I asked nervously. "Can you zip me up?"

"Of course." Alek smiled and came up behind me. His fingertips lightly grazed my skin as he took hold of the zipper. My mind instantly wandered back to my dream where he unzipped my dress. I held in whatever feeling was rumbling inside me. He zipped the dress up carefully, his fingers lingering at the top for a moment.

"Thank you." I managed to say.

"Mhmm hmm." Alek said, walking away. I took in a deep breath and held it, letting it out a few seconds later.

"You're taking this fashion thing a bit seriously aren't you?" Alek asked, referring to my dress.

"One of the many things about New York is the fashion. I'm embracing it." I said, shrugging my shoulders with a smile.

Alek and I made our way to Jonathon's office that was in Lower Manhattan. Not very many people had been there, it seemed to be two people from each attending pride. We were in a meeting room with one of the long tables and comfortable chairs surrounding them.

Jonathon informed everyone that the man from last night was indeed a messenger from the order as Alek had suspected. I felt uneasy as they confirmed that the man had been taken care of. I knew very much well that that meant the man was killed.

"Although he has been disposed of, we will be continuing with the normal precautions." Jonathon finished. A moment later, everyone in the room was standing up and catching up with one another.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Chloe, Alek." He turned towards us. "We've been talking, and not many of us are completely convinced that you two are mates. We hope we don't sound to forward if you two kissed." I immediately looked to Alek.

"A kiss? That's the kind of proof that you want?" Alek asked, I could tell he was flustered by this.

"Well, no honestly. We would prefer that you two would make a larger commitment, but it seems for now we won't be talking you into that. So, yes a kiss." Jonathon stated firmly.

"Chloe is not big on PDA. We like our moments to be intimate…" I cut him off before he could continue.

"Alek, it's okay. If it's a kiss they want, then so be it." I put a hand on his chest, comforting him.

"No, we shouldn't feel obligated to prove our relationship to them, or anybody else for that matter." Alek was angry, I figured it was just an act. "I don't really care what you want us to do, this is our life and we will live it as we choose. Come on Chloe." Alek grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the exit. He stopped, turning around. "Just because Chloe is the Uniter doesn't give you the right to treat her as your pawn. She's the Uniter and her decisions on what she does with her life…and with who, are her own." I looked back at the Mai in the room apologetically, as Alek pulled me out. They looked shocked at Alek's ability to speak his mind.

Alek took us back to the suite. He didn't say a single word to me the entire time. Instead, he was walking ahead of me. I was furious. He argued with me, telling me to play along and he had just possibly ruined it. What gave him the right to destroy something? And what was really the issue? It was just a kiss. He wanted to kiss me last night, but now all of a sudden he didn't?

I followed him into the suite, slamming the door shut behind me.

"What the hell was that?" I yelled. Alek whipped around, his expression changing from anger to shock.

"What do you mean?"

"That…back there!" I yelled, he looked at me confused.

"First you want to kiss me last night and then all of a sudden you don't? And in a room full of Mai who are eager to make sure that this bond is real?" I yelled out my frustration.

"Chloe…it's not like that. I just…" I cut him off.

"You could have very well just royally screwed this up!" I began pacing the room as I was rambling. All of the sudden, Alek stepped in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders so I couldn't move.

"Will you just let me explain?" I pursed my lips, wanting to say something but decided to keep my mouth shut. I nodded.

"I want to kiss you and I'm not going to kiss you because a room full of people is asking us to. I'm going to kiss you because I want to, and only with your permission." He said, his hands still on my shoulders as he looked into my eyes. I was once again at a loss for words as I tried to think of what to say.

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><p><strong>See what I did there? Haha! Hope you like that. So, pay attention to a few things in this chapter. Alek was awake, do you think Chloe said something in her sleep? It's kind of obvious. How do you think Chloe will respond to Alek's confession?<strong>

**Chloe's dress can be found on the external link for Give In To Me on my profile! :)**

****UPDATE** Chloe had a pretty steamy dream. A lot of you liked it, but there was one person who pointed out that it seemed pretty raunchy. I just want to say that yes it was very raunchy, but it was only a dream. I think for something that steamy to happen with Alek and Chloe would only be possible if they had a strong and stable relationship, which is far from what they have now. They are in a very timid stage right now and are still very much developing. This will be a very long fic, there is still a lot of innocence between the two of them. If something were to happen, it would be very...delicate? I can't think of the right thing to say, but it wouldn't be so...dirty. XD Chloe's dream was sort of a realization, she can't deny the feelings she has for Alek and she is pretty embarrassed just thinking about the dream. Just wanted to throw that in there, haha sorry. New Chapter is scheduled for the usual timing. :)  
><strong>

**Okay, the amount of reviews I got on the last chapter was just insane. Seriously, I am amazed at how many of you take the time to review. I love reading them. Each and every review makes me smile or literally laugh out loud. So, please do me a favor and keep reviewing like that. Just like the cliffhanger I left you with in this chapter, review!**

**You know you want to! ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

****THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! NINE LIVES WAS CANCELED!** I am extremely devastated. I have no idea how I was even able to write this chapter. I have so many emotions right now! I can't even begin to explain it! It was confirmed as well! Ugh! I am super pissed!**

**I will continue this fanfic. I don't know how I'll manage knowing it's never coming back, but I've decided to make this fic your daily dose of Nine Lives. As long as you guys keep reading and reviewing, I'll stick with it. I am just so upset. I just…I can't!**

**I wish another network would pick it up but AndyReaser tweeted regarding that saying "I'm afraid it's time to let go." So, I'm…speechless.**

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><p><em>"I want to kiss you and I'm not going to kiss you because a room full of people is asking us to. I'm going to kiss you because I want to, and only with your permission." He said, his hands still on my shoulders as he looked into my eyes. I was once again at a loss for words as I tried to think of what to say.<em>

"Why?" I asked, not sure what else to say. I looked down, not wanting to face him.

"Because, it's only proper. You don't kiss someone because people want you to." I still stared down, but I could tell he was trying to get me to look at him.

"No…I mean why. Why do you want to kiss me?" I asked nervously, slowly looking up at him.

"Well…because…" He seemed shocked that I had asked him and I was disappointed that he didn't actually have an answer. "Because I…I want to."

"Not good enough." I looked past him, his hands still on my shoulders. I wanted a real reason. If he had feelings for me, I wanted him to tell me. I didn't want to be the one to say it first per chance of embarrassing myself and him not really feeling the same way.

"Because you're different." I looked back at him and frowned at this.

"So you want to kiss me because I'm different and you want to?" I asked sternly.

"No, I don't mean it like that…Chloe." He released his hands from my shoulders and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"Then what?" I asked. He didn't answer me. He just looked at me, his expression unreadable. I scoffed, rolling my eyes and walking away. "When you figure it out, get back to me."

I started walking up the stairs and I felt Alek following me. Beside me on the staircase, Alek began to speak.

"You said so yourself that it's been two years. Two years of constantly being at each other's throats. It's…" He hesitated as we reached the landing on the second floor. "Well I don't know the word, but you have to know what I mean. I know you feel it too." I stopped at these words.

"You don't know how I feel." I said blankly, refusing to look at him.

"Your sub conscience tells me otherwise." I looked at him, cocking my head to the side and wondering what he was talking about.

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><p><span>Alek's Point of View <span>

"You don't know how I feel." She said, and I immediately wondered back to this morning.

_I had been sleeping when Chloe was thrashing around beside me. I opened my eyes to see her on her back beside me, her head turned towards me with her lips parted slightly. She was breathing heavily and my first thought was that she was having a bad dream. Noises were erupting from her throat that I had never heard before. _

_She was tossing and turning beside me. I was about to wake up when she rolled over. Her hands grabbed at my chest, tugging on my shirt. My eyes widened in shock when she laid her head down on my chest. _

"_Alek." I heard her whimper. I smirked that she was dreaming of me and from the sounds of it, it was a very good dream. _

_I threw my hands behind my head and looked down at her. She was breathing heavily and from the noises she was making I could tell it was definitely not a bad dream. Chloe moaned my name this time and clutched harder on my chest, letting out a gasp. I listened to hear what she would say next but it was nothing because she jumped at the sound of the alarm._

"Your sub conscience tells me otherwise."

"What do you mean?" She cocked her head to the side in question.

"Let's just say I know very well that your dream was not what you claimed it to be." I smirked. She blushed and I knew that I had caught her for sure.

"Then what was it about?"

"I think you know what I'm going to say, so let's not embarrass you more than you already are." I said with a chuckle.

"Whatever. Who said it was about you anyways?" She scoffed and walked away, into the bedroom.

"Oh, I don't know. I think you made it pretty clear when you moaned." – I changed my voice, mimicking hers – "Oh Alek! Mhmmm." I teased, hearing her gasp.

She was over at the bed and picked up a pillow and threw it at me. "Jackass." She murmured. I quickly dodged, laughing.

"Several times I might add." I said, watching her roll her eyes.

"Go on a date with me." I moved towards her, my tone serious now.

"No." She said quickly.

"Oh come on." I pushed on. "We both know you want to." I was now in front of her. She had a timid smile playing on her lips as she refused to look at me.

I knew she wasn't going to answer me any time soon. "Fine, think about it and then let me know." I leaned forward, saying that last part next to her ear.

I walked back, smirking at her. I was turning to go enjoy the terrace when I remembered something.

"By the way, training restarts tonight at nine." I grinned at the groan I received in return and made my way onto the terrace.

I sat in one of the lounge chairs for a while when Chloe came out. She was dressed in black shorts and a black tank.

"A little too early for training don't you think?" I referred to the daylight. It was a little past six by now.

"Huh?" She asked and looked down at her clothes. "Oh, whatever. Anyways…" – she said plopping into the other lounge chair – "Do you really want to know who Jason reminded me of?"

I leaned forward, intrigued. "I'm listening."

"You." She said in a matter of fact tone.

"That's absurd. I'm nothing like him." I scoffed, slightly irritated. She was comparing me to that pompous ass?

"Well, you both have the scruffy blonde hair and good looks. However, I thought you two had the same type of cockiness but his is more demanding than charming. I can handle your cockiness because I know you like to be playful. You are persuasive and witty. With him…I just don't get that feeling from him. He takes it too far."

"Hmm, so good looks and charming. Do I sense a sudden change of heart on the date I asked you on?" I suggested.

"Nope." She laughed. "And is that all you got out of that?"

"No, I got the rest. Him being demanding and such, but the other stuck out more so I used that. Tell me, I do have the better looks right?" I said pretentiously.

"You're too much." She shook her head, laughing.

"Maybe, but I must say I am rather insulted. Jason…really?"

"I didn't really know him as well when I thought that. I told you at the ball you were better than him." She shrugged her shoulders, I smiled at this. "Oh, I ordered dinner so it should be up soon." She mentioned just as I heard someone at the door.

I got our dinner and brought it up for Chloe and I. We ate, exchanging small talk. Once we were done, it was around time to go to training. By the time we got to the spot, it would be dark and secluded.

We were at the entrance of Central Park.

"Okay, we are running all the way to the Great Hill." I informed her.

"How far is that?" She asked wearily.

"Opposite end of the park." I smirked.

"You've got to be kidding me." She remarked.

"Nope, come on." I started jogging, taking shortcuts. Chloe was beside me the whole time and it felt good to be running again.

Once we got to the Great Hill, Chloe and I were out of breath. I placed my hands on my hips, catching my breath as she held her hands on her knees, catching hers as well.

I tossed her a water bottle from the bag I had on my back. We both drank and regained our strength. We were doing hand to hand combat tonight. Chloe was doing fairly well for not training for over a week.

"So I've answered all your questions, now you answer mine." She said as I blocked her attack.

"What questions?" I asked innocently, throwing my arm as she ducked under it, spinning around.

"Why is our photo booth strip in your wallet?" I caught her fist in my hand.

"Uh uh. Go on a date with me and I'll answer that one." I smirked. Chloe looked at my hand and cocked her head, glaring. She jerked me over so that I fell on the ground. She placed her foot on my chest in victory.

"Never." She raised her eyebrows, looking down at me with a slight smile. She took her foot off me and offered her hand. I took it as she helped me up. I made a point to get really close to her face.

"You'll give in to me." I said, before turning away, smiling.

"And like I said, in your dreams Alek." She said sarcastically.

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><p><strong>Sorry, it's not my best chapter. I'll fix any mistakes when I wake up. <strong>

**I can't stop thinking about how they canceled it! I am beside myself. I hope you guys will stick around for your daily dose of Nine Lives. As much as I hate seeing the show gone, I hope I can keep it alive with my writing. Somewhat at least, I know that it's nowhere as good as what the show was becoming.**

**Please review and tell me what you think. I wanted them to be playful this chapter because I really couldn't write something depressing. I'm depressed enough with the news. So review and tell me what you think. **

**You know you want to. ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

***UPDATE* Going to try a long chapter tonight. Please be sure to review. Didn't get as many as this story normally does so I hope you didn't abandon me after the cancellation news.  
><strong>

**Here's the next chapter. I have to get up early, so it's a pretty short chapter. I think it's a twist that I can work with in future chapters though so I hope you like it.**

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><p><em>"And like I said…In your dreams Alek." She said sarcastically.<em>

"Race you back to the Plaza?" I ignored her last statement.

"Alek." She said sternly. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Haven't we trained enough?" She whined.

"Maybe, but you can never be too prepared." She looked at me, her arms crossed, not wanting to run back.

"We can swing by Starbucks afterwards." I suggested. Chloe pondered for a moment before looking back at me.

"Fine." She agreed.

Before we could start, my phone rang. "Hold on." I held my hand up as I took my phone out. It was Jonathon. I contemplated on ignoring the call, but picked up reluctantly.

"Yeah?"

"Alek…so glad I reached you. Look, I know the meeting ended on a sour note but we have larger issues right now."

"Go on."

"Somehow word got out that the Uniter is in the city." He said wearily.

"And how did that happen exactly?" I asked, anger rising up at their weak precautions. I turned around to see Chloe staring at me in question.

I walked over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her with me as we walked through the park. I needed to get her back to the hotel as soon as possible.

"We're not sure. However, they are looking for her right now." I listened to him, shaking my head in disbelief as Chloe and I swiftly back to the Plaza.

"Well, you figure out where your leak came from and I'll keep her safe." I hung up.

"They found out I'm here?" Chloe asked beside me. I nodded my head.

"Come on. We need to get back." We started sprinting, side by side.

We ran for a while and were about halfway back when I stopped, holding my arm out, urging Chloe to stop as well.

"What?" She asked, exasperated.

"Quiet. Something's not right again." I whispered, looking at our surroundings carefully. Chloe tensed and did the same.

It was too quiet. I had a strange feeling washing over me, much like the one that did at the ball. My instincts told me to run, but something was holding me back. It was as if I knew that something was about to happen, and it would by no means good.

"Al..mmmppphh!" I whipped around frantically. Chloe had a hand over her mouth by a man in a mask. Before I could jump to her rescue, something slammed into me…knocking me to the ground.

I grabbed this person by their jacket. They too were wearing a black ski mask. I flipped them over me, getting to my feet. I quickly looked around, spotting Chloe being dragged away by the other person. I started running after her when I was slammed down again. I tumbled off of them, getting up.

This time, in even more rage than before, I grabbed this person by their throat and threw them. They landed against a tree, still alive. Chloe wasn't in my sight any longer and I became panicked. I started racing in the direction that the other one had taken her in.

"Chloe!" I yelled out. I pushed on faster, I was near the end of the park when I saw Chloe on the ground underneath a tree. Nobody was with her, it was as if they left her there. Every dark thought crossing my mind, such as a stab wound, had crossed my mind.

I ran to her side, kneeling down to her. Her hand were planted on the ground, shaking, as if she were extremely weak.

"Chloe…are you alright?"

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><p><span>Chloe's Point of View<span>

"Yeah…I'm fine…just a little whoozy." I sad, squeezing my eyes together. I felt lightheaded from whatever was on the piece of cloth they held over my mouth. Whatever it was, it hadn't been enough to knock me out completely.

"Come on, The Plaza is over there. I'll help you up." I felt Alek grip my arm, helping me up slowly. My legs were weak and wobbly. I went to take a step and went to fall only to be caught by Alek's strong arms.

"I'll carry you." He said, lifting me up and beginning to carry me out of the Park exit. The Plaza was just across the street.

"Alek…I can walk, really just give me a minute." I protested with my voice, but physically was too tired to move.

"It's fine Chloe…besides they might come back. Pieces aren't really fitting together right now and I'm not taking any chances." He said as we walked into the lobby.

We received a few strange looks from people in the lobby, to which we both ignored. I wrapped one of my arms around Alek's neck, snuggling into his chest. I felt weightless.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew we were walking up the stairs in the suite. Alek laid me gently on the bed.

"Alek…what just happened?" I asked, confused.

"I'm not sure…what happened after he took you away?"

"Nothing. He just dragged me away, despite my protests. I guess he weakened me with that stuff on the cloth, but he didn't hurt me. He took me to that tree and ran off. I didn't really sense any danger, which was really strange." I explained, trying to figure out what exactly went down tonight. "What about you? What happened on your end?"

"I fought him off. He made it too easy." He told me, just as confused as I was.

All of the sudden Alek's phone began to ring.

"It's Jonathon." He said, staring at the screen. He answered it quickly. "Hello? Yeah, Chloe and I were just ambushed but they didn't do anything. They just left Chloe by some tree."

Alek placed the call on speaker so I could hear as well.

"Well, I don't know if I should congratulate you or scold you." Jonathon said flatly. I looked at Alek who returned the same questioning gaze I held.

"What do you mean?"

"It was a test. We thought we would help out with some trials."

I saw Alek's face flicker to rage. "You mean to tell me that was your men?" He shouted.

"Yes, you did a good job fighting off that Mai. You still lost sight of the Uniter though. We'll have to work on that." The New York Leader commented.

"Excuse me?" – Alek said, his voice raising. – "Chloe and I were just out training the past three hours and you have the nerve to stage an attack on one of your own?"

"It was a test. You can never be too careful."

"You do realize that you weakened her with that Chloroform? What if it had been a real attack...or someone attacked her after? Do you also realize how vulnerable that Chloe to be attacked like that in the open?" Alek was full on shouting now, pacing back and forth in the room.

"Maybe you aren't aware of how things are done around here Mr. Petrov, but we will take any and all precautions when it comes to the Uniter. We wanted to see how her protector performed. From what I heard, you banged up your opponent pretty well. Good job!"

"This isn't a game. Her lives are games that you can play with to run your stupid little tests. I don't care if you're the leader of the whole world…you will not pull these types of stunts with us." Alek fumed.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to apologize for it, but I can tell you that it won't happen again. We didn't know this would be your reaction."

"It better not because if it does, Chloe and I will be on the next flight to San Francisco…got it?" Alek was giving the orders now. I listened intensely.

"Yes Mr. Petrov." He said flatly, defeated. "All Chloe needs is a good nights worth of rest. Have a good rest of your evening." With that, Jonathon ended the call.

Alek looked over at me, breathing deeply. I looked back at him sympathetically. I, of course, was angry as well but couldn't deny that this was affecting Alek in an entirely different way than it had been me.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed too, but you look like you're going to explode." I stated.

Alek stopped pacing, and looked at me. His features softened and he relaxed into a calmer state.

"You don't know what it feels like when you go missing, or are taken." He said.

"We can talk about it." I offered. He gazed at me before turning his back to me.

"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." He said calmly, still a hint of anger in his voice.

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><p><strong>Yes, I know another short chapter. I have to get up in less than 3 hours though. I'm free most of the day though so I hope I'll be able to write a super long chapter. I'll fix all mistakes later tomorrow.<strong>

**Did you expect the Mai to stage a test attack on them? Please review and let me know what you think. **

**You know you want to! ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

****UPDATE** I am still going to update today, but it will be tonight. Thought I would let you know. I didn't want to upload another short chapter, so this one is going to be long. So keep an eye out for it! :)  
><strong>

**I heard that they are going to try to get another network to pick up the series. As long as we keep protesting about the cancellation, we could see more of the show! So far I have heard the CW or Syfy could pick it up. They are just rumors, but it has happened with other shows before…so it is very possible!**

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><p><em>"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." He said calmly, still a hint of anger in his voice.<em>

"Alek…" – I sat up on the bed. – "You haven't said something like that to me since-"

"Since before everything happened…I know." Alek said, his back still facing me.

I remembered how he said almost that exact thing to me after the Jackal incident. It was before Alek had kissed me, before everything had been so complicated…before everything spun out of control.

"Alek…I really want to move past all of that. I mean…what's the point? It's been two years."

"The point is Chloe…" – Alek finally turned to face me – "that you chose him." Alek sat on the end of the bed, his back to me again.

"No…I didn't. I hadn't chosen anybody." I said softly, not wanting a fight.

"You made it pretty clear." He said emotionless.

"I told you what happened."

"You didn't elaborate." He scoffed, I let out a sigh.

"Well, I will now…if you want me to." I offered. I was still weak, but I managed to crawl forward so that I could sit beside him. Alek didn't say anything to me, so I decided to continue on.

"Do you remember what I told you after we went dress shopping?"

"Yes. You said that you –" He broke off, uncertainty in his voice.

"That I had been falling for you, yes. I told you I didn't want to be in love with Brain, because I wasn't." I said, the last part confusing me.

Alek was fidgeting with his hands. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he never did. It was as if the words were on the tip of his tongue but he was being careful with them.

"This is the part you don't know." I said, scooting closer to him. He looked up at me, his eyes full of question. "I was in love with the idea of Brian, not who he was." I explained softly.

"That doesn't make any sense." Alek said, his eyebrows furrowing.

I took a deep breath – "Okay…" – I exhaled – "Brian was around at a point in time where all I wanted was to be human. I felt human around him…I didn't feel like I had this huge duty on my shoulders." Alek hung his head down, as if he were disappointed that I didn't want anything to do with the Mai. "But as time went on, I began to accept the fact that I was Mai, and I embraced it…and then you happened." I said with a small smile forming on my lips.

Alek still wasn't looking at me, and I couldn't read the expression on his face. He was always difficult to read, but this time it seemed nearly impossible. I clenched my jaw and swallowed nervously.

"Alek?" I started breathing heavier, feeling my heart beat faster in anxiety.

"Chloe, I'm sorry." He looked up at me sincerely.

"You're…" I began to question, but retorted "You know, you've been saying that a lot lately." I teased.

"Yeah, well…I have done a lot of awful things lately, especially the past two years."

"I wouldn't say awful…" – He cocked his head, raising his eyebrows – "Okay yeah, you were pretty awful." I admitted, he chuckled.

"And that was wrong of me. Had I listened to what you had to say, we probably wouldn't…" He stopped, searching my eyes for a moment. "We would at least have remained friends." He finished.

I had hoped he would have said something other than that. I had a spark of hope in me that he would tell me we would have been together, but he didn't.

"Right." I said quietly. "Friends." I looked down. I felt Alek look over at me and immediately changed the subject.

"I wanted to say thank you. You saved me tonight…staged attack or not." I looked up. "I realize that I used to tell you that a lot, but not enough anymore." I confessed.

"No worries." He smirked. "Besides, what else would you be thanking me for? Being an ass?" He chuckled. I laughed in retort.

"Can we start over?" I asked.

"We tried that before, remember?" He reminded me. I thought back to the night of the break-in. This conversation was beginning to shape itself into something similar.

"Yeah, but I don't think I had a clear head then…now I do. Plus…third time's a charm, right?" I suggested.

"That's the rumor." He laughed. "So you want to put everything that happened in the past, a clean slate like before?"

"All the bad things at least." I said softly, unsure of how he felt. "I'd like to keep the good memories and the time we've spent here in New York as our starting point."

"That's what I mean." He said playfully. "There's something I want to tell you. A few things actually." He admitted, I gave him a questioning look but nodded my head, giving him the floor.

"The night of the ball. I wasn't holding your hand in the elevator because it was to get in a role for the Mai…I wanted to." He looked away. "Just like how I wanted to kiss you. It wasn't because of the role. I…don't think there's a part of me that let go of the feelings I have for you." He admitted, too scared to look at my reaction.

I couldn't help but smile. This is what I had been hoping for. He was letting me in, letting me know that there was a part of him that truly did feel for me like I had for him. It made me want to tell him exactly how I felt, but I wasn't sure his feelings were as strong as mine.

"It's not…" He looked up at me. "Before I say anything else, I want to know if there is a part of you that still feels for me." I gulped, this is what I had been afraid of.

I looked down and start fiddling with my hands. It would be easier if I focused on something other than him when I said this. "I do. I never really stopped…but I thought you hated me."

"But…?" He asked nervously.

"I still never stopped. I just had to hide my feelings and try to let go, which I still haven't been able to do." I confessed, already more than I wanted to.

"I didn't hate you…I was just angry. I know I dragged it on for two years…but I didn't really know how to stop arguing with you."

"Oh…" I said. "I'd really like to move past it all now. I just want to pretend it never happened." I looked at his eyes.

"It's not going to be easy." Alek said.

"It'd be boring if it was." I retorted, thinking of our old conversations. Alek must have remembered his similar remark from one particular night on a rooftop because he laughed.

"How do you feel?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't feel weak anymore, just super tired." I shrugged.

"How about we go to sleep and figure the rest of this out in the morning then?" He offered. I nodded my hand gently. He looked at me as if he was contemplating something, but got up and went to his side of the bed, pulling his shirt off as usual.

I pushed myself back. I got under the covers, turning away from Alek and shutting the light off. I got comfortable when I felt Alek put his arm around me. I gasped, surprised that Alek would think that I would be okay with this so soon. Not that I wasn't. I was just more surprised that he would.

"What? We wake up like this regardless." He laughed. I smiled, thinking of how this was how we woke up every morning, no matter how we fell asleep. I snuggled against him and his arm tightened around my waist, bringing me closer to him. The second I closed my eyes I felt myself drift off blissfully.

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><p>The next morning I woke up to a familiar ringing. I groaned, realizing it was Alek's phone.<p>

"Alek…phone." I grumbled. I felt Alek remove his arm from my waist slowly as he reached for his phone. I rolled over onto my back, squinting my eyes to wake up.

"Hello?" Alek answered groggily into the phone.

"Where are you and the Uniter?" With my super-sensitive hearing, I recognized Jonathon's voice. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to call Alek after last night.

"At the suite." Alek's tone sharp and alert.

"Well, we are all waiting on you. We had meetings today, starting a half hour ago at eight-thirty." He said sternly.

"We're not going to make it in today. Whatever these meetings are about, I'm sure you'll be fine without us." Alek said flatly.

"That's unacceptable. You and –" He started, but Alek cut him off.

"No Jonathon, what's unacceptable is the little stunt you pulled last night. Chloe and I will be at the rest of the scheduled meetings starting tomorrow, but not today. I'm sure you can understand, or do I need to make a call to the airport to make my point?" Alek said, threatening that we leave.

"Fine…dinner tomorrow. Six o'clock at Butter's, you know where that is right?" Jonathon replied, flustered and defeated by Alek again.

"Of course." I could hear the smirk slipping into Alek's voice as he hung up the phone. He looked over at me, smiling. "Good morning." He said cheerfully. "I just got us the day off."

"So I heard. I'm not sure Jonathon was too pleased about that." I remarked.

"Who cares what he thinks." He scoffed, getting up.

"Where are you going?" I asked as he scrimmaged through the dresser.

"I am going to shower and go pick up the Starbucks we were supposed to get last night." His voice was pretty cheerful and I was grateful for the talk we had last night.

"Okay…" I said, getting up as well. I felt normal despite the chloroform that had weakened me last night. "I'm going to shower too…you sure you don't want me to go with you?" I asked.

"I'll just bring it back here…I know how long it takes you to get ready." He teased; I pursed my lips in return, glaring at him. Alek laughed and resumed to pulling out his clothes.

Alek ran to use the downstairs bathroom as I went into the one in our room. I showered and shaved my armpits and legs. The hot water relaxed my muscles. I finished washing and got out, wrapping the towel around me. I brushed my hair, putting some relaxer in it. I applied my usual makeup and changed into a pair of jeans and an elbow-sleeved black Henley.

"Chloe, I'm back!" I heard Alek call from downstairs. I came out of the bathroom as Alek had reached the upstairs. He too was wearing a jeans and an elbow-sleeved black Henley.

"Hope you're hungry" He said, holding up a McDonald's bag and two Frappuccino's.

"Yes, I am so happy to have familiar food." I motioned towards the McDonald's bag.

"I figured you would be. Terrace?" Alek questioned, motioning towards our favorite part of the suite. I nodded my head, following him out.

I sat down at the table, taking a sip of my drink. Alek pulled out sausage and cheese biscuits for the both of us. We talked as we ate our breakfast, towards the end…

"So, now that all is out…what do you say about the date I asked you on?" He asked smiling. I blushed in return.

"I guess we could work something out." I teased as I finished my biscuit, taking another sip of my coffee.

"How about today?" He asked, my eyes widened in surprise.

"Uhm…" I laughed nervously. "We could."

"Only if you want to." He said.

"No, I want to. Sorry, just kind of caught me off guard." I laughed, assuring him.

"So that's a yes?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Fine…yes." I gave in. "Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"Wherever you want to go, a movie…more sightseeing…or if you want to stay in..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Alek!" I yelled, not being able to help the laugh.

"Just throwing out all my ideas for you." He held his hands up defensively, smirking.

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><p><strong>I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to, but I tried. I have to get up early again. My schedule is so busy because I am moving in less than two weeks. I have to write at night and that can be kind of hard. <strong>

**Where do you think they will go on their date? I think that this story has progressed itself to the point where this is okay. They still haven't kissed, but maybe they finally will in the next chapter. It is going to be their first date after all. Please review, it will help me write faster. The more inspired I am, the longer the chapters are. I've been writing a chapter a day for over two weeks now, so pretty please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter and where you think their date will be.**

**You know you want to! ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

****UPDATE - REVISED CHAPTER - Not very many reviews when I got up, can we fix that? I thought you guy wanted them to be happy on their date? ;)  
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**I just wanted to make a note to an anon reviewer. Supposedly, I took way too long to write the previous chapter. Followers of this story know that I usually update around the same time every day. The previous chapter was updated a few hours before the regular time. So I guess uploading earlier than usual took 'way too long'. Most writers don't update on a day to day basis either. It was a pretty bratty thing to say, even if you said you didn't mean to sound that way. Just sayin.**

**Also, I could not upload this particular chapter yesterday because I didn't feel good. It's a long chapter and I didn't want to upload another short one. Still, I've had daily uploads for over two weeks now. I just needed to take a break…for one day. I'll fix all grammar and other mistakes when I wake up. Forgive me? Here is your long chapter!  
><strong>

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><p><em>"Just throwing out all my ideas for you." He held his hands up defensively, smirking.<em>

**Alek's Point of View**

Chloe crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair, sending me a glare. I laughed, my eyes scanning her for moment. I realized that she was wearing a black Henley like I was.

"Although, I must say it is very cute that you wanted us to dress alike today." I said. She looked down at her outfit quickly and chuckled.

"I didn't do that on purpose. I just grabbed something." She admitted. She looked embarrassed, but I found it rather funny.

I began to think of where I could take Chloe on our first date. I wanted to take her to a place that was fun. New York City was huge and it was full of a lot of things to do, but I wanted it to be normal. My first thought was Coney Island. We could definitely have a lot of fun there, but I didn't want to be the person to suggest it. Coney Island kind of reminded me of when we went to Treasure Island. It was too similar, and it was the last good memory we had before things went south.

I didn't want to think of that, nor did I want to remind her of that, so I knew I needed to think of something else. Since we only had today, it crossed out the other two ideas I had in mind. We still had three weeks here; maybe I could plan one of them for next weekend and the other the last weekend we were here.

I thought of taking her down to SoHo, but I really didn't want another shopping spree. SoHo had a lot of museums and other things to do, but one of the main things was shopping. There was the Empire State Building down there, I'd have to think about that one. Even though I knew the city a lot better than Chloe, I felt inclined for her opinion.

"So…what would _you_ like to do?" I leaned forward, smiling. If there was something that Chloe wanted to do, then so be it.

"I have no idea…there's so many things to do in the city." She paused, thinking for a moment. "But I kind of want to do some that is normal…that you can find anywhere…with a taste of New York." She used her hands while she talked, as if she were trying to paint a picture.

I leaned back and scratched my head, dumbfounded. I knew that we had been to Central Park together so many times. I thought of maybe taking her to the zoo…that could be fun. Since she wanted to do something you could find anywhere, Broadway was out of the question.

I tried to think of where I could possibly take her. Normal with the New York touch, and something fun. I thought I finally had an idea, and it was kind of like the indoor more laid back version of Coney Island.

"Do you like bowling?" I asked.

"They have bowling in New York?" She asked, surprised. I laughed at her reaction.

"Yeah, there's a place called 300 New York down at the Chelsea Piers. It's right on the Hudson."

"Hmmm…" She said.

"They have more than bowling too. It's like bowling, a pool hall, arcade games and a restaurant. Let's just say it's not your average bowling alley. It's got the New York touch." I explained.

"Sounds fun." She smiled. "It's definitely been forever since I've gone bowling."

"I think it's been a long time since you've done anything fun…myself included." I chuckled.

"So…what makes it different than the average bowling alley?" She asked, leaning and resting her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her hand.

"Well, other than the extravagant restaurant, the glass loft that overlooks the lanes, the massive arcade that has almost every game you can think of, a private bowling suite with its own entrance and bar, a huge bar…" I went to continue but was cut off by Chloe's laughter.

"Okay, I get it. Wow, that is a lot. Seriously? I can't believe I've never heard of it." She said.

"One of New York's best kept secrets, they don't advertise it that much. They don't really want it overran by the tourists." I explained.

"Is it like fancy clothing zone…because it sounds pretty fancy?" She asked.

"It's not a formal establishment. It is a bowling alley after all." I laughed at the silliness of her question.

I took out my phone and looked at the time. "It's around noon now. I say we go there around six, have our dinner there while we play a few sets?" I offered.

"Yeah!" She said excitedly. I felt accomplished. "So what do we do till then?"

"We can sit back and watch something on pay per view? I don't remember the last time I watched a movie."

"Ugh! I was hoping we would watch tv at some point. We were always busy with Mai stuff or arguing." She crossed her arms, scoffing. I held in a laugh.

"What?" She asked, giving me a funny look.

"No, you're right. I just thought you looked pretty cute when you were flustered we were arguing." She pursed her lips and glared at me as I said this.

"Let's go see what we can order." She said, getting up. Her empty Starbucks in her hand as she grabbed mine. I grabbed the McDonald's bag up and followed her back into the suite.

I followed her downstairs to the living room. As we walked by the dining room Chloe laughed.

"You know, I find it so funny that we eat on the terrace instead of the actual dining room."

"It's nicer up there." I said, Chloe looked back and smiled as she made her way into the living room.

She sat down on the sofa, taking the remote off the coffee table and switching the tv on. I plopped down beside her. She was sitting in the middle and when I plopped down on the end, it made her bounce against me. She looked over at me and raised her eyebrow. I gave her a smirk in return, putting my arm on the back of the couch behind her.

"Okay…let's see. City of Bones, The Hunger Games, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, The Host, Fast and Furious 6…what do you want to watch?" She asked, looking back to me.

"Doesn't really matter to me." I said in playful arrogance.

"Okay…City of Bones?" She looked over at me. I nodded my head, letting her know it was okay as she ordered it.

"I've been wanting to see this for forever!" She exclaimed.

"I personally thought you would pick Breaking Dawn…thank god for that."

"No, I already saw that with Jasmine and Amy…didn't like it either." She said, confusing me.

"When did you see that?" I asked. She rarely left the apartment unless it had been for school, training, or work…and we graduated a few months ago.

"Oh…ummmm." She said, realizing she had been caught. "You had a basketball game and instead of training I convinced Jasmine to let us see a movie." She explained.

"And how many times did that happen?" I interrogated her, loving her nervous reaction.

"Not that often, believe me. Jasmine is going to be a strict pride leader." We both laughed at this. Jasmine was pretty strict so I was surprised that Chloe had talked her out of training.

* * *

><p><span>SPOILERS FOR CITY OF BONES. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I AM DONE SPOILING.<span>

The movie was starting. According to Chloe it took place in New York but it was something about shadow hunters and demons of the underworld. It was difficult to understand from her perspective, but I understood it as we watched the movie.

_"In future, Clarissa, it might be wise to mention that you already have a man in your bed, to avoid such tedious situations." The character Jace spoke. _

Chloe laughed, and her mouth mimicked the words as if she already knew them.

_"Maybe you should have thought about that before you kissed me," he said._

_"__I__ kissed you?" The fiery redhead spoke._

_"Don't worry, it wasn't that memorable for me, either."_

Chloe gasped, her mouth turned in half a smile. Her expressions were just as interesting as the movie. We laughed at the arrogant remarks from the one character. Towards the end I became disgusted because I found out the two that had been seemingly good together were brother and sister. Chloe awed and I could have sworn her eyes welled up at the twos reactions when they found out.

"They are so meant to be." She said. I crinkled up my nose.

"That's pretty sick, they're…" She cut me off.

"Nope. They aren't." She smiled giddily. "I read the books. That guy is an asshole who likes to wreak havoc. He knows that they are in love with each other so he used it as a ploy to hurt them, they aren't really related." She explained. I nodded.

Confusing plot, I think I'll read the books. "Well, thank you for spoiling it." I said with fake sarcasm.

END OF SPOILER.

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><p>The movie ended. It was now around three. We still had some time to kill, but I figured Chloe would be going upstairs soon to get ready.<p>

Chloe shut the TV off and leaned back onto the couch. I hadn't made a move on Chloe during the movie because I didn't want to take things too quickly. Even if we had resolved our issues, it was still a fragile line.

"I'm glad that we are able to start over Alek. I don't know how much longer I could have taken the arguing."

I smiled at her, not knowing how to respond back even though I felt the same way, of course.

We sat in silence for a while longer when Chloe broke the silence again.

"Since I agreed to go on a date with you, can we get one thing out of the way?" She asked nervously.

"A kiss?" I smirked and leaned forward. She lightly put her hand on my chest and pushed me back, laughing.

"No…ummm…" She said, her laughter fading. "The photo strip." She said, not making eye contact.

"Oh…that." I laughed nervously. "I guess?" I made this sound like more of a question than I wanted it to.

"You don't have to." She turned away. She also looked a little hurt.

"No…it's okay. If not today, I would still have to tell you." I admitted, she looked up at me.

"Tell me what?"

"I stole it from your room." I said.

"I kind of figured. I thought I lost it, but then I saw it in your wallet. Why though?" She asked.

"I don't know. Like I said, it was hard getting over you and I really had fun that night. It was really the last good memory."

"That's how I saw it too." She smiled gently. She stared down at her hands, fidgeting. It had become one of those awkward moments and I didn't know what to say again.

"So…" Chloe dragged. "I'm going to get ready." She laughed nervously. "Ummm…I'll be down in a few minutes. I just need a different shirt." She looked down at the Henley she was wearing. It caused me to laugh again.

Chloe came down about fifteen minutes later. She was wearing jeans, flats and a sheer light purple top. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her lips were rosy.

"I'm ready…what time is it?" She asked, I looked at my cell phone.

"Only 4:30." I said.

"Oh…" She trailed off.

"We can go early if you want?" I offered, she had looked kind of disappointed that it was so early. It was kind of cute to see her like that.

"Sure." She said excitedly. "I mean, if you want." She tried to pull off a relaxed comment, but I could tell she was excited to the point where she couldn't hide it.

"Yeah, let's go." I laughed, getting up from the couch.

So far, this date was awkward and I needed something to break that tension. Something so that we would both relax.

We were in the elevator. Chloe was on the other side of it. I could hear her heart rapidly beating in her chest, she was just as nervous as I was.

I slickly moved my way closer to her, she watched me out of the corner of her eye. I reached beside and grabbed her hand. I instantly thought it was a mistake but was proven wrong when Chloe tightened her hand around mine and looked at me with a genuine smile.

I smiled back at her. It felt as if a lot of the awkwardness had risen after that.

The elevator doors opened and we made our way through the lobby. I hailed us a cab, letting Chloe slide in first. We traveled through the part of the city that Chloe had never seen before. She made a lot of remarks regarding the stores or the structures. It was interesting to hear from her perspective. I showed her a few places that I used to hang out when I visited.

* * *

><p>We arrived at 300. When Chloe and I walked in, I caught Chloe's jaw drop and her eyes widen. The walls on each side of the rows of many lanes were video screens, strobe and other types of lights were hanging, creating the ultimate indoor light show. There was a DJ in the corner playing popular songs. A lot of the lanes had been taken up, but there were a lot that still hadn't been taken.<p>

"Wow, they even have a dj?" Chloe asked in awe.

"It must be something new that they do." I said, not remembering there being one the last time I was here. "Come on." I put my hand on the small of her back, leading her to the desk. We paid and got our bowling shoes in exchange.

"Want to go order our food and start playing while we wait?" I offered.

"Uh huh." Chloe responded, looking all around in awe at the many lights. I smiled, knowing that it had been a good idea bringing her here after all. She loved it, I could tell.

Chloe and I went over to the bar and ordered our food. We went to our assigned lane and I sat beside her as she typed our names into the screen.

"You look like you're already having fun." I nudged her, she laughed.

"Hey, I haven't had fun like this in forever…I'm going to enjoy it." She said, concentrating on the screen with a smile on her face.

"And I'm going to make sure you have just that." I said, seeing her blush in reaction.

"Do you want to go first or should I?" She asked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter.

"Heads or tails?" I asked.

"Ummmmm…tails." She decided. I flipped the coin and it landed on tails.

"You go first." I looked up, giving her a goofy smile.

One of the servers came over and laid down two cokes for us. Chloe had gotten up to pick one of the bowling balls from the shelf.

She came back over a few minutes later with a small green one. She gave me a small smile as she walked over and positioned herself. She ran forward and released the ball. She watched it in anticipation. It steered to the left and fell into the gutter.

"No!" She yelled, I couldn't help but laugh at her. She whipped around quickly. "Not funny!" She whined, hiding her smile. She took her second shot and got another gutterball. I was laughing hysterically. I couldn't help it. She came over and sat beside me, picking up and sipping her coke, pouting.

I got up and picked up one of the larger bowling balls. "This is how it's done." I ran up the lane and released the ball. It traveled down the center of the lane, slamming into the pins, knocking them all down. I turned around, smirking at Chloe.

"Impressive." She said. "But can you do it twice?" She teased, getting up and brushing against me as she took her ball from the dispenser. My eyes followed her as she past me.

She ran up the lane and released the ball. This time it only knocked down three of the pins. I tightened my jaw and tried to control the smile that was trying to take over my face. When the ball came back up into the dispenser, I grabbed it before she could.

"Hey, it's still –" I cut her off.

"Let me help you." I came up behind her, handing her the ball. I ran my hand down her arm until my hand was over hers. "You shouldn't wait until the last step to throw the ball. You should let it gradually come forward with each step. Then…on the last step you flick your wrist upward. It will help your ball roll straight instead of spinning into the gutter." I whispered into her ear. I could feel fire radiating off of her and saw that her face was red and she had a wide grin on her face.

I stepped back, smiling. "Now try it." I said. Chloe took a few steps back, doing just as I said. The ball traveled down the lane, slamming into the pins. She knocked five more pins. There were two left on the opposite side of each other.

"Oh man." She said.

"No, that was very good. That right there" – I pointed at the two pins – "is called a bowler's nightmare. It's almost impossible to get them both." I chuckled as she smiled, satisfied with the ones she did knock down.

The waiter brought our food to our area. I grabbed one of the nachos and ate it, raising my eyebrows at Chloe. I walked over and reclaimed my ball from the dispenser. I ran up and released it again. I watched it travel down the center and smirked when I got another strike.

"Alright, now that was impressive." She exclaimed. I turned around, my mouth curved sideways as she nodded her head.

"I told you…that's how it's done." I winked, she rolled her eyes as she munched on one of the cheese covered chips.

"Well…as you know third times a charm." She teased. "My turn." She jumped up, wiping the salt and grease from her fingers. I stood by the dispenser as she grabbed her ball and ran up the lane. She released the ball, knocking down half of the pins.

She formed her lips like a fish as she moved her head from side to side. I shook my head, laughing at her. She grabbed her ball and threw it done the lane again. She screamed, jumping up and down when her ball knocked down the rest of the pins.

She whipped around and ran over to me. I was surprised when she jumped up and threw her arms around me.

"I did it! Strike!" She said in a sing song voice. I embraced her back tightly. The force from her jumped made me spin the both of us around. At the end of the spin, she went to let go, but I brought her closer into me.

"I hate to tell you this, but that was a spare. Strikes are made by big leaguers like me...on the first shot" I teased in her ear and loosened my grip from her.

"Oh shut up. I'll get a strike…you just wait!" She slapped my chest playfully and went to take a sip of her drink.

We played a couple of games. Chloe never got her strike, but she was a pretty decent player. Chloe had one more shot to take before we decided to call it quits and head up to the arcade.

"I hope you strike, it's your last chance." I taunted. She glared at me as she grabbed her ball.

"I'm going to get it Alek." Determined, she ran forward and released the ball. It traveled right down the center of the lane. Chloe threw her hands up and swung her body as the ball knocked down every single pin. She turned around and pointed at me.

"I told you! I told you I'd get it. Ha!" She came back to the table. I held in my laugh at her childlessness.

I put my chin in my hand and looked at her. "That's one against my…twenty?" I looked up, squinting and then looked back at her with a teasing stare.

"You know, nobody likes a gloat." She remarked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Then why are you smiling?" I asked, giving her back the smile she was giving me. She let out of huff, blowing a loose tendril from her face.

"Come on…do you want to go to the arcade…or do you want to go somewhere else?" I looked at the clock on the wall. I couldn't believe so much time had passed. It said that it was 10:30.

"I think we should do something else. I don't think an arcade game could top that epicness." She said, I agreed with her.

"Yeah…true. How about we walk back to the hotel? We're bound to come across something interesting." I offered.

"Yeah, sure." She smiled. I took her hand in mine as we made our way outside.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for this chapter. The date isn't over yet. What do you think is in store for them next? Review and tell me your thoughts.<strong>

**You know you want to! ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Guess who is back? I know it's been almost a year since my last update and I am so sorry for that. Life got really complicated for me. After my last chapter, life kind of took over. It's been an extremely hard year for me and it's still pretty hard, but I know that I never wanted to abandon this story. It was even harder for me to get back into this fic after I moved knowing the show was cancelled. It really sucked, but I am back and I'm not going to give up on this fic. It won't take me another year to update though. Expect regular updates, but not daily like before. **

**I actually started this chapter last year. This is how I planned it happening. It's pretty dramatic but when has anything ever been easy for Chloe and Alek?**

* * *

><p><strong>Alek's POV<strong>

I looked around at our surroundings, checking to make sure the area was safe. We were all the way down in Chelsea, walking back would take an hour at the least.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a cab back?" I suggested. "It's over an hours walk back." I had been hoping she would agree, but I knew Chloe and wasn't surprised by her answer.

"Yeah…I mean unless you want to take a cab. I kind of like the fresh air." She said, shrugging her shoulders as we stood outside the Bowling Alley.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." I laughed as we began walking away from the bowling alley.

The streets were still busy, but compared to day time, they were nearly empty. It was pretty warm outside as summer hadn't quite ended yet. Thankfully, fall would be hitting soon and it would cool down some.

"You may have totally kicked my ass at bowling this time, but I will beat you next time." She said confidently as we began walking down the street.

"Beat me?" I scoffed. "You wish King." I gently nudged her and tossed her my signature smirk.

I wondered why her aim had been so off at the bowling alley. It should have seemed natural to her and that she'd be great at bowling but when she kept getting gutters, it was clear to me that I was wrong. I didn't overthink it, not thinking that anything was wrong with her. My mind drifted to how much fun I had instead and I watched her walk, studying the look on her face. She looked thoughtful and I found myself completely mesmerized.

We walked a few minutes in silence and I finally found that we had been progressing. Just the night before Chloe had admitted that after everything that's happened, she hasn't been able to stop feeling what she felt back then. She told me she had been falling for me back then. I had pushed her away and it was now my biggest regret. I should have heard her out. We were destined to be together, but I was too stubborn. Now…just maybe we could test the waters. Tonight had been amazing. It was so carefree and normal, something that I wasn't used to. We had turned a new leaf, we were starting over. Maybe now we actually stood a chance.

Halfway through our awkward and silent walk back, something wasn't right. Like many times before when something was about to happen, an unsettling feeling swirled in the pit of my stomach. I opened up my ears, blocking out the sound of the city as I listened for something unusual around the two of us. Whatever it was, something was coming. Chloe was a couple of paces ahead of me, too far. I walked faster to catch up with her. "Chloe."

"Yeah?" She turned her head to look at me and smiled. She was oblivious to anything going on around her. "Alek…I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you for that." Her smile grew and before I could react the way I wanted, it started.

"Chloe!" I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down on the ground as a ninja star sliced into my back. Pain ripped its way through my body. It had gone deep. She gasped beneath me, her eyes widening in shock.

"Alek, what's happen—Alek watch out!" She screamed as I felt someone grab onto my legs and pull me off of her. Her eyes were laced with fear as she grabbed my hands and tried to stop whoever had me. It was no use, the impact of the star weakened me significantly as if it were laced with something. Regardless, they were stronger.

"Chloe, run!" I cried out in agony. "Get out of here!"

I felt myself being thrown against a wall, my body slamming into it, feeling as if it had shattered. I desperately tried to move but found myself incapable of doing anything other than watch. I realized that whatever I slammed into had paralyzed me.

"Get off of me!" She screamed as the man in the black trench coat picked her up roughly, slamming her into the alley wall. She whimpered in pain as I clenched my eyes shut at the impact. I tried to move again, only being able to move slowly as my body ached all over. I took deep calm breaths trying to gain enough strength to get to her.

Chloe struggled beneath the man's grasp around her throat. Her feet were sweeping against the ground as she tried to gain some balance. Her claws extended and mashed into the man's arm. Something was wrong. Her claws retracted. However, he let her go as he cried out. It was as if Chloe had no control over her Mai powers. I watched as she fell to her hands and knees and scampered over to me.

"Alek!" She whispered hurriedly, concern and fear in her eyes and her hands shook, afraid to reach out and touch me. She saw the star implanted in my back, too scared to pull it out. "Oh god." Her hands were shaking.

"Do it. Pull it out." I said exasperated. "Do it fast." I was breathing heavily. I knew the chances. I squeezed my eyes shut. I groaned as I felt the star being pulled out quickly. A burst of relief flooded through my body but I was still weak.

"Chloe, get out of here. I'll follow." I felt my strength building, but not enough to pick myself up.

"No! Not without you. I am not leaving you!" She cried and went to help me up.

Before she could, the man was behind her. He grabbed Chloe by the hair and threw her backwards. She screamed once again as the man walked over to her.

"Any final words, Uniter?" Her eyes widened. As she started scrambled backwards on her hands and feet. He had her cornered. Panic set into my body.

The will to save Chloe washed over me, allowing me to move past all the pain. I was so slow, Too slow. I managed to stand up. My stance was staggered and my back fell against the wall as I breathed heavily. "Chloe." I breathed out.

She heard me, but the man paid no attention to me. I was using it as a distraction. I tried, but he ignored it.

"If I'm correct you have seven lives left to die." He smirked manically. "The order is going to have fun with you."

I watched as Chloe desperately tried to extend her claws. Something was very wrong. She was useless against this man. Her super human strength was gone, her defenses were gone. The man grabbed her arm roughly, yanking her to her feet. She tried to fight against him but it was useless. Her eyes caught mine and I saw fear and sorrow filled in them. I watched in anxiety as the man pulled out a knife. He was going to kill her. Take away one of her lives.

"Stay away from her." I was willing at that moment to die for Chloe. I always was. I didn't care how weak I was. I lunged myself forward, slamming the man into the wall weakly. He quickly turned around and with all my rage I broke his left arm. The knife was in his right hand and it was lunging towards me.

"Alek!" Chloe screamed as she watched what was happening.

"RUN!" I roared, but she wouldn't have it. She grabbed onto the back of the man, pulling his head back. Her hands tightly wound into his hair. He slammed his arm back, his elbow slamming into her rib cage. Chloe cried out in agony as she clenched onto her side, stumbling back.

My focus wandered to Chloe. I felt something hit me again. The unsettling feeling in my stomach. This time it wasn't a warning. It was cold and sharp and I heard Chloe yell my name as my knees started to give out.

The knife had pierced into me. It wasn't deep enough to harm any internal organs, but it was deep enough to kill. If I was going to die, I wasn't going to be the only one. I would not allow myself to die with Chloe in harm's way. My eyes darkened in anger and the thought of living without Chloe gave me the will to keep fighting. My strength returned enough for me to break our attacker's right wrist. He was still holding the knife, trying to push forward with what he had left in him. We were falling to the ground. The knife was pointed towards my second and for a moment I believed it was over.

When Chloe screamed again I found the strength to turn the knife around. The man landed on top of me and let out a dying grunt as the knife went into him. His weight on top of my weakened body caused me to groan weakly.

"Alek!"

* * *

><p><strong>Chloe's POV<strong>

I desperately ran to Alek's side, afraid that he was dead. I saw the knife pointed at Alek's stomach. The man on top of Alek was dead and I pushed him on top, thankful to see Alek had been able to turn the knife.

Fear coursed through my veins when I saw all the blood. "Oh my god Alek! How could you be so stupid?" I was crying, I thought I was going to lose him for good this time.

"Chloe, I'm fine. It's not as..bad…as it looks." He said between groans. I trembled above him.

I lifted his shirt to see the gaping wound. He was bleeding, thankfully slowly. I let out a sigh of relief. "Alek, stay with me. You're going to be okay." I breathed out, praying that I was right.

I looked around quickly for anything that would stop the bleeding. I was at the point that I didn't care. I ripped the bottom half of my purple top and pressed it to his stomach.

I took out my phone to reluctantly call Jonathon. "I don't have time to get to specifics. I need medical now." I quickly rushed to tell him where I was and hung up the phone.

Alek was my hero. He was on the verge of dying, yet he came through. Something was wrong with me. My powers rendered useless. I had only been able to extend my claws for five seconds before they retracted. I was stripped and unable to protect myself.

I reach out and ran my fingers across Alek's cheek. "You're going to be okay. I promise. Stay awake."

"Chloe." He went to speak but I pressed my fingers to his lips.

"Shh, save your energy." I teared up, brushing the hair off of his sticky forehead.

An hour later we pushed through the plaza and up to our room. I had my arm wrapped around his shoulder, allowing him to use me as support as we climbed the stairs. I helped him over to the bed as he sat, leaning back on his hand and letting out a breath. He was conscious and much better than before, but still very weak. We hadn't spoken a word to each other since the incident.

In all honesty, I was afraid to speak. Alek would be back to normal by tomorrow afternoon. They had given him some type of ancient healing remedy that the Mai used over the years. Alek was already gaining his strength back, but he was still very weak. Luckily, he was able to walk. It took a lot of energy out of him, but he was capable.

I hadn't told the medical team about my lack of powers. I didn't need anyone doubting that I was the Uniter any more than they already did in the past. My lip trembled at the thought of how close I was to losing Alek tonight. I dismissed myself into the bathroom only to return with a damp cloth. I walked over and sat beside Alek on the bed, pressing the rag to his forehead and gently swiping it along each side of his face. My eyes avoided his as my breath grew ragged.

"Chloe, look at me." He said softly. His shirt was gone but he had a jacket on. Bandages were wrapped around his waist, but there was still blood dried onto his skin. I started pushing his jacket down his shoulders, but he resisted.

"Alek, please." I pleaded, my voice shaky. He weakened, allowing me to push the jacket off as I tossed it to the other side of the bed. I ran the washcloth along his skin, clearing away the dry blood. I needed to clean the rag out so I stood up as Alek grabbed my wrist.

"Please talk to me." He looked up at me. His eyes swirling with concern as they pleaded with me.

I shook my head as my voice broke. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be." My eyes watered, the tears ready to spill. "Tonight was supposed to be good. Instead I almost lost you and…and I don't know what I would do if I..." I choked up…unable to get the words out.

Alek quickly stood up and wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his shoulder. I grasped onto him as if my life depended on it and cried. I felt him stroking his fingers through my hair and pushed him off.

"How could you do that? Why?" I wiped my eyes, taking a step back.

"To save you."

"No! Not to save me." I cried. "You can't do that. You almost died. You almost died your one life to save one of my seven!" I turned around and walked over to the dresser, grasping it for support.

"Chloe. It's my duty to protect you. I want to protect you. I can't just watch you die."

"I don't care what your duty is! Throwing away your life to save me? You can't do that. You just can't." I whipped around to face him, my expression a mix of anger and sadness.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't live without you!" I gasped at my own words. It was true, but I never thought that I would be saying them to him. Before he could respond, I continued. "One of my lives is worth saving yours Alek Petrov. You heard me right. But that doesn't mean I'm ready. I'm still hurt about what happened these past two years. I can't move past in just a week or two. It's going to take time for both of us. All I know is I can't live without you. Whether we hate each other or we end up loving each other and having a future together. You can't die on me. You can't throw your life to save one of my many. Not when you have just one." I finished, feeling as though a heavy weight had lifted off of my chest.

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><p><strong>Thank you for the continued support on this fic. I can't tell you how many pm's and reviews I still get to this day. It's almost daily, but definitely weekly that I'm asked to continue and update. If it weren't for that continued support, I probably wouldn't be updating. I would have felt like hope was lost for good. For those of you that are still with me, please review. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this chapter and what you would like to see happen next. <strong>

**Why are Chloe's abilities weakened? What was that star laced with? What is Alek going to think of Chloe's sudden confession? What is going to go down at the dinner with Jonathon? Leave me your thoughts in a review.  
><strong>


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